MOBILE, Ala. -- Very few things upset Louisiana Tech Head Coach Leon Barmore as much as seeing his team beaten on the boards.
That's why the 19-year veteran of the Tech sideline doesn't have to be reminded of the Lady Techsters first meeting with North Texas earlier this season, a game Tech won 75-63 in Denton Jan. 11th despite being outrebounded 37-32.
"A couple of things stand out about the last time we played them," Barmore said Sunday after watching the Lady Eagles down Middle Tennessee 72-54 in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament. "They had 17 offensive rebounds against us, and they outscored us in the second half by five or six points. We did a very poor job of keeping them off the offensive boards in that game."
Barmore knows his fifth-ranked squad must do a much better job when it faces North Texas Monday at 2:07 p.m. at the Mitchell Center in the second semifinal contest of the day. Florida International and Denver meet at 11:30 a.m. in the first game, and the winners advance to the championship game Tuesday at 3:37.
North Texas (19-9), the No. 2 seed out of the West Division, is winners of eight of its last nine games, with the lone defeat coming at the hands of divisional champ Denver (54-44 on Feb. 10). The Lady Eagles are one of only five opponents this season to outrebound Tech, which ranks No. 3 in the country in rebounding margin (+9.6). In that first meeting, Tech trailed 18-10 before ending the first half on a 33-8 run to take a commanding 43-26 halftime lead. However, the second half saw the Lady Eagles outscore Tech 37-32 thanks to its efforts on the offensive glass.
All-Sun Belt Conference selection Jalie Mitchell - who scored a season-high 28 points in NT's win Sunday - echoed the sentiments of her teammates about the upcoming challenge of facing Tech.
"I'm looking forward to it," Mitchell said. "They are ranked No. 6 (actually No. 5), and it's a great opportunity for us. A win could get us into the NCAA Tournament. I haven't been to a postseason tournament since I've been here. I'm looking forward to the match-up. If we go out and play like we did today, we'll be fine."
In order to be fine come Monday afternoon, North Texas Head Coach Tina Slinker knows her team must find a way to slow down the Lady Techsters post players.
"(Their inside game) is definitely one of their (strengths)," Slinker said. "I don't think we can settle in behind Louisiana Tech because they are versatile enough that they can turn and shoot it or take it to you. We'll have to change what we are doing defensively against them."
Slinker's concern comes after witnessing the combination of Ayana Walker, Cheryl Ford, Takeisha Lewis and Kenya Bibbs score 53 points in the Lady Techsters 86-63 quarterfinal win over Western Kentucky on Saturday.
Barmore knows North Texas won't be the only team that has to play well in order to win.
"They will run some things offensively that present us with some problems," Barmore said. "They run good sets. We've got to rebound better (than the first time), and we have been. We have to play better defense (than the first time), and we have been."
The game can be heard live on KXKZ-FM 107.5 or via the Internet at www.kxkz1075.com.
