Boxscore

RUSTON ? Ole Miss entered the Thomas Assembly Center Tuesday night sky high after earning its first Top 25 ranking in 10 years.

Louisiana Tech (6-3) brought the Lady Rebels (9-2) back down to earth with an 84-71 victory before 2,012 fans.

Ty Moore scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead four Louisiana Tech players in double figures as the Lady Techsters led for all but two minutes of the entire game.

However, it was the success on the defensive end of the floor that Techster head coach Chris Long was most proud of following the game.

?We knew they were as athletic a team as we would see,? Long said. ?We did a good job of defending them the way you have to. We stopped their dribble penetration for the most part and took them out of their game plan.?

Ole Miss hit only 33 percent (24-73) of its field goals while committing 22 turnovers for the game.

Aarica Ray-Boyd added 17 points for Tech, while Tasha Williams chipped in with 14 points and Tamika Kursh scored 11 points as Tech improved to 5-1 all-time against the Rebels and 69-38 against the Southeastern Conference.

Despite playing without Williams ? the reigning Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year ? for the majority of the first half, Tech led 40-37 entering the halftime locker room.

Williams, who scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half, helped her team quickly build a double digit lead in the second half and hold on down the stretch for the victory.

?I was tired of sitting on the bench (during the first half),? Williams said. ?This team feeds off my energy and I was energized in the second half.?

The 5-foot-7-inch point guard hit only 1-of-2 field goals for the entire game, but connected on 12-of-16 free throws while adding five rebounds, four assists and two steals in 26 minutes of action.

Ole Miss, who entered the game having already defeated Texas Tech and Rutgers this season, was led by Armintie Price with 23 points and 13 rebounds and Carla Bartee with 15 points and 10 boards.

?I thought we were slow and sluggish tonight,? said Ole Miss coach Carol Ross. ?Tech was more aggressive. The team that played the best won tonight.?

The Techsters return to action Thursday night when they host Alcorn State at 6 p.m. followed by the Bulldogs against Tougaloo at 8 p.m.