Boxscore

FRESNO, Calif. ? Fresno State overcame a 10-point first half deficit to defeat Louisiana Tech 72-57 Thursday night at the Save Mart Center, keeping the Lady Techsters from taking over first place in the Western Athletic Conference standings.

A win by Tech would have vaulted the Techsters past Boise State in the league standings as the Broncos were upset 68-60 at San Jose State.

However, Tech head coach Chris Long said his team didn?t deserve to win.

?I?m disappointed,? Long said. ?Fresno State deserved to win this game. They outworked us, they out-executed us and they outhustled us tonight. We didn?t deserve to win.?

Early on, Tech (15-12, 10-4 WAC) looked like it was ready to win for the seventh straight time on the road in WAC play as the Lady Techsters built a 23-13 lead on an April Williams jumper at the 5:07 mark. Tech led by 10 despite leading scorer Shan Moore and starting point guard Eboni Mangum sitting the majority of the first half with foul trouble.

However, Fresno State (15-11, 8-5) ? which hit only 5 of its first 20 shots ? got hot and used a 14-0 run in less than a three minute span to take a 27-23 lead. Tech retook the advantage at 28-27 before Fresno State?s Brittani Green scored right before the half to give the Bulldogs a 29-28 halftime advantage.

The final 20 minutes of play was not good to Tech as the Lady Techsters shot only 31 percent (12-39) from the field while Fresno State hit 50 percent (16-32) of their field goals while also hitting 9-of-11 free throws.

The Bulldogs never trailed over the final 20 minutes of play while maintaining at least a seven point lead over the final 14 minutes of the contest.

Moore led Tech with 16 points while Mangum added 13 points and Ty Moore registered her 13th double double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Amber Metoyer added seven points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.

Chantella Perera led Fresno State with 21 points, while Tierre Wilson added 12 points and Paige Diggs 10 points.

Tech lost despite outrebounding Fresno State 44-40, including pulling down 26 offensive boards.

Tech returns to action Saturday at 8 p.m. CST at Utah State.