Boxscore RUSTON ? Senior guard
Nastassja Levingston scored 21 points to lead Louisiana Tech to a 71-66 win over a team comprised of former Tech letter-winners in exhibition action at the Thomas Assembly Center Thursday night.
Levingston hit 9-of-19 field goals and a trio of three-pointers, including a 30-footer with 10 seconds left in the game and the shot clock running down, to lead head coach Chris Long?s team to victory in its final tune-up before its season opener at Western Kentucky Tuesday.
?When you have a young team, it takes some veteran leadership to get out of a funk,? Long said. ?I thought
Nastassja Levingston stepped up for us tonight not only scoring but as a vocal leader. This team needs that.
?It was a good test. I didn?t expect them to stay in that zone as long as they did but it?s a good tape for us to go back and watch. We weren?t as good in transition offense or defense as we have been in practice.?
The game was close throughout. Tech led 30-25 with 5:05 to play in the first half before the Leon Barmore-coached former Techsters ended the half on an 8-2 run. A Monica Maxwell put-back at the buzzer gave the former Techsters a 33-32 halftime lead.
Freshmen
Adrienne Johnson and
Tarkeisha Wysinger led Tech in the opening half with eight and six points respectively while Takeisha Lewis led the former Techsters with 11 first-half points.
Long and Co. opened the second half on a run of their own, regaining the lead and pushing it out to as many as eight at 46-38 on a Johnson jumper with 13:16 to play.
However, once again, the former Techsters wouldn?t go away as a 15-7 run tied the game at 53-53 with 7:44 to play on a three-pointer by Maxwell.
?Our transition defense must be better,? said Long who saw his team commit 25 turnovers on the night and get beat up the floor on numerous occasions. ?Our conditioning especially on certain players isn?t good enough.
?We have to learn to attack a zone defense better. They played a lot more zone than we expected. We are going to see it, and we have to be ready for it. I was surprised to see we shot 48 percent; it didn?t seem like it. All those things are correctable and that?s the good thing.?
Another Maxwell three-pointer with 2:02 to play tied the game at 66-66 before Levingston scored the final five points of the contest to lead her team to victory.
In addition to Levingston?s big night, Johnson and Wysinger each added 12 points each.
Amanda Wilson led the former Techsters with 15 points, 11 rebounds and seven steals while Lewis and Maxwell each added 12 points. LaQuan Stallworth scored 11 points.
Tech, which outrebounded its opponent 43-38, shot 48 percent for the game, connecting on 30-of-62 field goals.
