RUSTON - Louisiana Tech center Cheryl Ford made a statement Thursday night scoring a career-high 28 points and grabbing a career-high 23 rebounds to lead the sixth-ranked Lady Techsters to an 89-56 win over SMU at the Thomas Assembly Center.

"This was my last (regular season) home game, and I just wanted to give the fans something to remember me by," Ford said. "I think I did a pretty good job of that."

Ford propelled Tech (26-2, 18-0) to a 47-33 halftime lead by scoring 18 points and grabbing 17 rebounds in the opening 20 minutes of play.

"She had 18 and 17 at the half," said Tech head coach Kurt Budke. "Like I've said before, if she's not the player of the year (in this conference) then something is wrong. She proved it tonight."

The 6-foot-3-inch senior finished regular season conference play averaging 17.6 points and 14.0 rebounds while recording 15 double doubles in 18 league games. However, none of the performances was as dominating as this one as Ford helped Tech prevent SMU from recording a single offensive rebound in the first half despite the fact the Mustangs hit only 10 of 33 field goals.

"Winning tonight was very important," Ford said. "Coach Budke stressed to play hard and win to protect our (NCAA) seeding. He wanted us to cut the nets down. He didn't want us to lose on our home court."

Following the victory, the Tech players and coaches cut the nets down on the south goal of the Thomas Assembly Center, celebrating the Lady Techsters conference crown, the program's 11th straight.

Tech led only 18-14 at the midway point of the first half before outscoring SMU 29-9 down the stretch, thanks in large part to the offensive rebounding of Ford and her teammates.

Despite Ford's incredible effort, she was not a one man show as junior Trina Frierson added 20 points and nine rebounds while Amber Obaze chipped in with 12 points.

Shanta Ramdhanny led SMU with 17 points while Kendall Shead added 12 points. The Mustangs hit 10 three-pointers in the game, but shot only 30 percent (22-73) for the game while being outrebounded 64-43.

Tech will play its first game in the WAC Tournament in Tulsa next Wednesday although the time and opponent are still undetermined.