RUSTON - Kurt Budke was not a happy camper at halftime of Louisiana Tech's game against Nicholls State Saturday night at the Thomas Assembly Center, and the first year head coach let his team know about it.

The No. 16 ranked Lady Techsters responded by outscoring the Colonels 52-23 in the second half to coast to a 93-50 win before 3,071 fans.

"I think one of the problems with a young, inexperienced team is getting ready to play every night," Budke said. "We didn't have the intensity we needed in the first 20 minutes. We talked about it at halftime and the second half was a lot better."

Tech scorched the nets in the second stanza, hitting 64 percent (23-36) of its field goals as the Lady Techsters quickly extended their 41-27 halftime lead to 64-34 with 12:02 remaining in the game.

Sophomore guard Erica Smith led the Tech barrage, tying her season-high with 17 points on 7 of 11 shooting, while Amber Obaze added 16 points, Aarica Ray scored 14 and Trina Frierson chipped in with 12.

"The defense was pretty good tonight," Smith said. "The first half wasn't very good. At halftime Coach Budke talked to us about our defense; we were giving them too many open shots. We just pretty much buckled down in the second half and played with a little more heart."

Holding the 14-point halftime lead, Tech hit its first six shots of the second half as Obaze and Smith combined to score 15 of the first 19 points in the second half. The duo, who had struggled shooting the basketball for much of the year, combined to hit 14 of 23 field goals and all four free throws to lead Tech.

Defensively, the Lady Techsters held Nicholls State to 36 percent (19-53) from the field while forcing a season-high 34 turnovers and recording 16 steals. Budke credited his team's second half success to being more focused.

"I don't think you can play this game without energy, enthusiasm and excitement," Budke said. "Those three things have to be involved and they weren't there in the first half. We did a much better job in the second half."

Kaci Fulton led Nicholls State with 14 points while Crescent Washington added 12 points.

The Lady Techsters return to action Monday night when they host Stephen F. Austin at 7 p.m. at the Thomas Assembly Center.