Boxscore

RUSTON - Erica Smith-Taylor scored a game-high 21 points to lead sixth-ranked Louisiana Tech to an 82-70 win over Rice Thursday night before 6,138 fans at the Thomas Assembly Center.

With the victory the Lady Techsters (23-2, 16-1) clinched at least a share of the 2004 Western Athletic Conference regular season title and Tech can win the title outright Saturday night with a victory against Tulsa.

Louisiana Tech outrebounded the Lady Owls 41-31 while also forcing a season-high 28 turnovers by Rice.

"There are not too many teams that can come in here and shoot the ball the way Rice did," Budke said. "I'm glad we were at home. This game wasn't so much about payback as it was about the fact it was the next game for us on our road to the conference title. Our defense ignited us all night long."

Rice (18-8, 15-2) lost for just the first time in the last 13 games, ending the Lady Owls school record 12-game winning streak. However, Rice didn't go down easily as the Owls hit their first three shots from the field to jump out to a 7-0 lead at the 18:33 mark of the first half, quieting the Thomas Assembly Center crowd.

Tech finally scored on a shot by sophomore Tasha Crain, who saw her first extended playing time in the last three games after recovering from an injury suffered in a win over SMU Feb. 21, and the two teams traded buckets.

With Rice leading 20-14 at the midway mark of the first half, Tech finally got rolling as the Lady Techsters responded with a 15-0 run that covered five minutes as was capped by a Smith-Taylor lay-up at the 6:32 mark of the half to give Tech a 29-20 advantage.

Rice answered with a run of its own cutting Tech's advantage to 38-35on a Lindsey Maynard three-pointer with 0:25 left in the half. Trina Frierson, who ended with 18 points and eight rebounds, hit an eight-footer to give the Lady Techsters a 40-35-halftime lead despite five three-pointers by the Lady Owls.

The second half started slowly for both teams with Tech still holding onto a five-point advantage at 44-39 before the Lady Techsters built their first double digit lead of the contest at 49-39 on a free throw by redshirt freshman Tamika Kursh at the 13:58 mark of the game.

Tech extended the advantage out to 70-53 at the 4:49 mark of the game as the run was ignited by six straight points by junior guard Lakiste Barkus, who finished the night with 11. However, Rice would not go away as the Lady Owls cut the Tech lead down to eight at 78-70 with under a minute remaining before time ran out.

"They really attacked us hard and got us on our heels," Rice head coach Cristy McKinney said. "Turnovers and rebounding were the keys to this game. I'm not disappointed in my team's effort though. We showed we belonged."

Tech senior Amisha Carter scored 19 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, recorded five steals and three blocks in 38 minutes of action and missed the 20-point plateau for just the second time in 10 games.

Maynard led Rice with 18 points while Michelle Woods scored 17 and Eshombi Singleton added 12.

Tech ends its regular season Saturday at 7 p.m. against Tulsa.