DALLAS, Texas - Forget about Louisiana Tech's convincing 88-52 win over Southern Methodist in Ruston a few weeks ago.

The Mustang team that the sixth-ranked Lady Techsters (19-2, 12-1) will be facing Saturday at 2 p.m. at Moody Coliseum is playing much better than the one Tech already soundly defeated Jan. 24.

Since SMU's loss at Louisiana Tech, the Mustangs have won five of their last six games with the lone setback coming on the road against Fresno State.

An illustration of SMU's recent improvement can be found in head coach Rhonda Rompola's team's shooting, especially from the three-point line. In the Mustangs last two wins, an 88-61 win over San Jose State and a 74-65 victory against Hawaii, SMU (12-10, 8-5) has hit 24 of 48 three-pointers.

"We've always felt like SMU is one of the most talented teams in this conference," said Tech head coach Kurt Budke. "Because of their ability to shoot the basketball from the three-point line, they are very, very dangerous. We have to do a good job of guarding them. We can't let them get open looks."

In three of its last five games, SMU has hit at least 10 three pointers, including 14 against San Jose State Feb 12, 12 against Boise State Jan. 31 and 10 against Hawaii Feb. 14. And although not a single SMU player is averaging double figures - senior guard Andrea Cossey leads the team at 9.6 points per contest -, the Ponies have six players who have hit at least 13 threes on the year led by Cossey's 41.

For Louisiana Tech each Western Athletic Conference games means more and more as the end of the regular season nears with both the Lady Techsters and Rice tied atop the league standings.

Budke knows his team can't afford a loss at this point of the season.

"Each game is so important for us, not only because of the conference title but obviously because of our seeding in the NCAA Tournament," Budke said. "We have some tough games left on our schedule and we have to stay focused and play well. We can't just show up and expect to win."

Tech continues to be led by a balanced scoring attach with four players averaging double figures while the Lady Techster defense continues to make things difficult on its opponents. Tech ranks No. 2 in the nation in forced turnovers per games (25.04) and steals (14.5).

The Lady Techsters lead the all-time series with SMU 14-0.

The game can be heard on KXKZ-FM 107.5 and via the Internet at www.z1075fm.com.