Boxscore

NORFOLK, Va. ? Heading into Sunday?s Mideast Regional semifinal against No. 1 ranked Duke, the Louisiana Tech coaching staff was concerned about the Blue Devils offensive firepower.

Thus, Louisiana Tech devised a defensive game plan that would hopefully force the high-powered Blue Devils to score on the perimeter, and the fifth-seeded Lady Techsters implemented it to perfection.

However, despite holding Duke to only 39 percent from the field while allowing only 63 points, it was Louisiana Tech?s inability to generate any offense of its own that ultimately spelled the end of the season as Duke downed the Lady Techsters 63-49 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center on the campus of Old Dominion University.

?I definitely think the effort was there,? said Tech head coach Kurt Budke. ?We left everything we had on the floor. We didn?t give up many easy baskets and that?s exactly what we had hoped. Unfortunately, we didn?t shoot the basketball very well. I wouldn?t be afraid to play them against tomorrow; we wouldn?t shoot 30 percent again.?

A gutsy Louisiana Tech squad hung with the No. 1 ranked Blue Devils for most of the game, trailing only 26-23 at the half and 48-42 with 8:46 to play. However, five straight Lady Techsters offensive possessions netted nothing and Tech saw its best chance of closing the gap disappear.

?Give Duke a lot of credit,? Budke said. ?They played great defense and they are a team that is tough to score against because of their size and length. Even when our guards were able to penetrate, they ended up having to shoot over a 6-foot-4 post player waiting on them.?

Tech trailed 50-44 with just over minutes remaining when the Blue Devils used an 11-3 run over the next two minutes to seal the victory. The Lady Techsters hit only two field goals in the final 8:34 of the game.

Tech hit only 20-of-66 field goals in the game, including a dismal 10-of-37 in a second half that saw Duke outscore Tech 37-26. For the game the Blue Devils blocked 11 Tech shots while altering many others inside.

Senior forward Trina Frierson led all scorers with 22 points, hitting 10 of 19 field goals, but Frierson was the only Techster who consistently scored against Duke. The 2004 WAC Player of the Year Amisha Carter hit only 2 of 13 field goals and finished with only nine points to go along with a game-high 15 rebounds while junior guard Erica Smith-Taylor, who entered the game averaging 29.5 points a contest in the NCAA Tournament, finished the afternoon 5-of-15 from the field for 11 points.

Duke?s three-time All-American Alana Beard scored 17 points, however, constant pressure by Tech?s Amber Obaze, Tasha Crain and Erica Smith-Taylor forced the Shreveport native into only 5-of-15 shooting.

Obaze, who during her four-year Tech career earned a reputation as a defensive stopper, held Beard to only nine points before fouling out of the game with 10:28 to play and Tech trailing 44-38.

For the game, Tech outrebounded Duke 43-41 while also forcing 15 turnovers while only committing 14. The Lady Techsters also kept the Blue Devils to only two fast break points the entire game.

Duke advanced to Tuesday?s regional finals to face Minnesota with the winner earning a spot in the 2004 Final Four in New Orleans.