Boxscore

MEMPHIS ? Freshman Tarkeisha Wysinger scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds off the bench to lead Louisiana Tech to a 92-57 win over Northwestern State Friday in the first round of the Lady Tiger Thanksgiving Classic hosted by Memphis.

Shanavia Dowdell scored 15 points and added 17 rebounds while Jo Sneed contributed with 13 points and 11 rebounds as the Lady Techsters advanced to Saturday?s championship game against Memphis, who was a 78-76 winner over Tennessee State.

?I thought we had some kids really step up for us tonight,? said Tech head coach Chris Long. ?I thought early on when we were struggling that Shanavia and Adrienne (Johnson) came up big for us. They both hit some shots and sparked us and that?s what we needed.?

Both teams came out cold as Tech built a 7-0 lead on a three-pointer by Dowdell at the 13:53 mark of the first half. The Lady Demons didn?t hit their first field goal until Jessica McPhail banked home a three-pointer from the top of the key at the 12:46 mark of the opening half.

NSU (2-3) tied the game at 7-7 but Tech used a 12-2 run sparked by eight points by Johnson to grab a 19-9 advantage. Tech led 38-19 at the half thanks to 12 points by both Johnson and Dowdell.

Wysinger, who hit 7-of-12 shots and 5-of-7 free throws while also recording three steals, two blocks and two assists in 23 minutes, scored 15 of her game-high 19 points in the final 20 minutes of play.

?I was really proud of her,? Long said. ?She struggled the other night in the opener, something she hadn?t done in practice this fall. It was good to see her rebound and have such a great game.?

Tech hit 44 percent (30-68) of its field goals and 78 percent (29-37) of its free throws in the game while outrebounding the much smaller Lady Demons 58-42.

McPhail and Brittiany Houston led NSU with 10 points each.