Boxscore TUSCALOOSA ? Louisiana Tech sophomore forward
Shanavia Dowdell didn?t want her homecoming ruined.
The Calera, Ala., hit the eventual game-winning shot with 8.7 seconds to play to give Louisiana Tech a 62-61 win over Alabama at Coleman Coliseum Wednesday night.
Trailing 61-60 with 23.6 seconds to play, Tech came out of a timeout and went inside to Jo Sneed who missed an off-balance jumper. Dowdell pulled down the offensive rebound and hit the putback to give the Lady Techsters the lead.
Alabama then went the length of the floor after a timeout and turned the ball over as time ran out.
?I wanted Shanavia to have a big night,? said Tech head coach Chris Long. ?But I?ll be honest, she came out and started really slow on both ends of the floor. She had a lot of people here and I think that might have affected her.
?She was only 3-of-13 from the field. However, she stepped up at the end. Jo missed the shot, and Shanavia was right there to put it in. She hit the big shot when it counted.?
Dowdell?s heroics were set up by a near Tech meltdown. A
Nastassja Levingston three-pointer with 7:04 to play gave Tech a 56-46 lead and what looked to be control of the game.
However, Tech went cold and Alabama used a 15-0 run over the next six minutes to grab a 61-56 lead with less than a minute to play.
However, Levingston hit a three-pointer and was fouled on the shot with 43.3 seconds to play to cut the Alabama advantage to 61-60.
?We have so much competition among our guards right now that sometimes I have trouble figuring out who to play,? Long said. ?However, when (Levingston) gets hot, she?s not coming out. She was great offensively for us tonight. She also has been a great senior leader for this young team.?
An Alabama turnover on its ensuing possession set the stage for Dowdell?s heroics.
?We looked like a very, very young team tonight,? Long said. ?But to come in here and not play well and still find a way to win is huge. Our backs were against the wall. We just couldn?t shoot tonight, and we weren?t very good defensively. I give Alabama a lot of credit. They switched defenses and made it difficult on us.?
Tech led 34-29 at the half despite shooting only 35 percent (12-34) in the first half. The Lady Techsters came out in the final 20 minutes and quickly built a 12-point lead at 45-33 on a
Tiawana Pringle jumper but Alabama would not go away.
Levingston tied her career high with 17 points while Dowdell ended with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Jo Sneed also scored 11 points for Tech.
Daleisha Carn scored 20 points for Bama while Tierney Jenkins added 10.
Tech returns to action Saturday when it hosts Southern Miss at 7 p.m.
