Jan. 25, 2008
LOGAN, Utah - Louisiana Tech will try to bounce back from a disappointing loss Thursday night when the Lady Techsters face Utah State Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
Tech (8-10, 2-3 WAC) led Nevada Thursday night by five points with six minutes to play before falling 74-70.
Lady Techster head coach Chris Long said that he expects a great effort from his team when they take on Utah State (6-12, 2-4).
"The key for us will be to continue what we've done the last few games," Long said. "We're starting to execute much better. We have to continue to grow as a team defensively. We've made some strides, but we still have to get better on the defensive end. That will be important against Utah State."
Despite the Aggies won-loss record, Long said that Utah State is a dangerous basketball team and a difficult one to prepare for in just one day.
"They are a scary team," Long said. "They really started to play better towards the latter part of their non-conference schedule. They've played Boise State and New Mexico State competitively to start league play.
"Utah State can be very explosive. They have two of the quickest guards in our conference in (Danyelle) Snelgro and (Taylor) Richards and they have post players who can step out and really shoot the three-pointer."
Snelgro (10.3 ppg, 54 assists) and Richards (9.9 ppg, 46 assists) are the Aggies top two scorers although forward Jenny Gross scored a team-high 19 points in Thursday's 71-58 loss to New Mexico State.
The Aggies have lost four straight games since opening WAC play 2-0 although the losses have been against New Mexico State (twice) and Boise State, who they scored 77 points against.
"They are one of the more difficult teams in our league to get ready for from a defensive perspective in one day," Long said. "That's the challenge that faces us. I feel confident our basketball team will be ready and will give great effort."
Long hopes his team can continue shooting the basketball the way they did Thursday night in the loss to Nevada where the Lady Techsters hit 51 percent of their field goals, including 63 percent in the second half.
What: Louisiana Tech at Utah State Where: Dee Glenn Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah When: 8 p.m. CST Saturday Radio: KXKZ 107.5 Internet Audio: www.z1075fm.com
