Boxscore

RUSTON ? Shannon Lloyd scored 13 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead Louisiana-Monroe to a 71-50 win over Louisiana Tech before 2,029 fans at the Thomas Assembly Center Tuesday night.

For the third straight game, Louisiana Tech shot dismally from the field, hitting only 35 percent (20-58) and 7-of-15 from the free throw line. However, it was Tech?s defense that infuriated Tech head coach Chris Long.

?Bottom line is we weren?t a very good basketball team tonight,? Long said. ?I give UL-Monroe credit, and I don?t want to take anything away from them.

?However, for us, it started on the defensive end. Our guards didn?t stop dribble penetration and then our posts were forced to help and it allowed (UL-Monroe) to get easy shots. We have to get better.?

After Tech (4-4) jumped out to an early 4-2 lead, UL-Monroe (6-2) used a 9-0 run to grab an 11-4 lead at the 15:21 mark of the first half. Tech was able to answer behind the inside play of JoKeirra Sneed and Shanavia Dowdell who combined to score 14 points as the Lady Techsters retook a 16-15 advantage.

With Tech leading 20-19, LeJeanna Howard hit a three-pointer that started a 6-0 Warhawks run and the Lady Techsters would not lead again.

UL-Monroe led 36-30 at the half despite Tech hitting nearly 50 percent of its field goals in the first half.

The second half was a different story offensively as Tech hit only 7-of-30 from the field for 24 percent and UL-Monroe pulled away for the win.

?Teams are starting to play us differently defensively and we are not handling it as well as we need to,? Long said. ?Our guards have to score for us as teams are starting to double team us in the post.?

Sneed led Tech with 15 points and 13 rebounds while Dowdell added 11 points.
Jesse Carrier led UL-Monroe with 14 points, while Regena Jackson added 11 and Lottie Moore 10.

Tech returns to action Thursday against Mississippi State at 7 p.m.