Boxscore RUSTON ? Louisiana Tech head coach Chris Long was lost for words following his team?s 67-62 loss to Southern Miss Saturday night at the Thomas Assembly Center.
Long poured over the box score in disbelief.
?We picked a bad night to shoot 31 percent from the field; to have a poor shooting night in every phase,? Long said. ?We got 22 offensive rebounds and took 18 more shots than Southern Miss. We had half as many turnovers. When you do those things you should win. We just didn?t shoot it well enough to win it.?
Pauline Love scored 18 points and grabbed 18 rebounds and USM (7-3) hit 6-of-6 free throws in the final 60 seconds to hold off a furious Louisiana Tech rally.
Tech (4-3) dug itself the hole by starting the game ice cold from the field, hitting only 3-of-27 shots in the opening 15 minutes. USM led 32-22 at the half as Tech was fortunate to trail by only 10 after hitting 8-of-39 field goals for 20 percent in the opening stanza.
Despite the dismal offensive half of basketball, the Lady Techsters wouldn?t quit. Tech spent the entire second half fighting to stay within striking distance. USM built its biggest lead of the game at 48-37 on a three-point by Kendra Reed with 12:39 to play.
The Techsters answered. Tech never allowed USM to pull away. Three Erica Williams free throws gave USM a 61-53 lead with 5:31 to play before the Lady Techsters made their final run.
Tech used a full-court press throughout the second half to force 29 Southern Miss turnovers, 18 coming in the final 20 minutes of play.
Senior guard
April Williams hit two free throws with 1:23 to play to cut the USM lead to 61-60. After a pair of Stephanie Helgeson free throws increased it back to three, Williams followed with a floater in the lane to once again bring Tech to within one at 63-62.
However, USM hit 4-of-4 free throws in the final 35 seconds and Tech was unable to answer as Tech fell for the first time at home this season.
?Despite us not being able to put the ball in the hole, I was proud of our defensive effort in the second half and our intensity,? Long said. ?We gave ourselves a shot to win. We had them rattled but we couldn?t convert enough on the offensive end. Our guards have to hit some shots.?
Tech, which entered the game shooting 41 percent from the three-point line, hit only 1-of-15 from beyond the arc while also continuing to struggle from the free throw line making 13-of-23.
Shanavia Dowdell led Tech with 15 points while Jo Sneed added 10 points and 10 rebounds and Johnson scored 10 points.
Tech returns to action Tuesday when its hosts UL-Monroe at 6 p.m. in the first game of a doubleheader with the men?s team.
