RUSTON ? Louisiana Tech faces arguably its second biggest test of the season Saturday night when the Lady Techsters host Southern Mississippi at 7 p.m. at the Thomas Assembly Center.
Tech (4-2) has won two straight after its 62-61 road victory at Alabama Wednesday night as the Lady Techsters enter a tough five-game stretch prior to Christmas break.
Lady Techster head coach Chris Long knows his young basketball team has to play much better if it wants to win against the Golden Eagles.
?We have to play better than we did against Alabama,? Long said. ?However, the bottom line is we found a way to win despite the way we played. We did some good things to get up 12 points, but just had a tough shooting night. We missed a lot of easy ones.
?If we make easy ones, then we stretch the lead out and get out of there with a more comfortable win. We were down five with less than a minute to play and found a way to win. That?s what I?m most proud of. It speaks volumes for the character of this team.?
The Golden Eagles (6-3) enter the game having lost three straight, although the past two losses have been on last second shots. South Alabama defeated Southern Miss 76-74 in their last outing on a shot with 0.4 seconds remaining.
?They may be the second best team we?ve faced to this point in the season, in fact I think they are,? Long said. ?They are so dangerous. They are averaging 80 points a game and shooting the basketball unbelievably well. They have a four-player in Pauline Love who is averaging close to 20 points and shooting 44 percent from the three-point line. She is a great player.
?Southern Miss can score from top to bottom. It?s going to be a big, big challenge for us defensively. In fact, we?ll have to score with them because no one has slowed them down yet.?
Love is leading Southern Miss, averaging 18.3 points and 10.4 rebounds a game and has already recorded seven double doubles on the young season. Amber Eugene is averaging 11.4 points while Stephanie Helgeson is averaging 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds.
As a team, the Golden Eagles are shooting 49 percent from the field, 35 percent from the three-point line and 73 percent from the free throw line. USM is averaging 78.0 points a contest.
Tech boasts four players in double figures led by Jo Sneed with 14.2 points and 10.2 rebounds a game.
Whitney Jones (11.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg),
Shanavia Dowdell (11.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and
Nastassja Levingston (10.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg) have also helped Tech average 75.7 points a contest.
Saturday night will also be autograph night as the first 400 fans through the doors will receive free Louisiana Tech schedule posters that the players will autograph following the contest.
Game Info
What: Southern Miss at Louisiana Tech (Autograph Night)
Where: Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston
When: 7 p.m. Saturday (Dec. 8)
TV: None
Radio: ESPN 97.7 FM
Internet Audio: www.espn977.com
Internet Streaming: www.latechtv.com
