Nov. 18, 2008

Box Score

MEMPHIS -- Louisiana Tech shot only 29 percent from the field as the Lady Techsters fell 67-60 to Memphis Tuesday night at Elma Roane Fieldhouse.

Despite shooting just 27 percent in the opening 20 minutes, Tech (1-1) found itself leading 28-27 at the half thanks to a trio of late three-pointers by Tiawana Pringle, Whitney Jones and Brietta Thomas.

However, the cold streak continued in the second half as Memphis outscored Tech 40-32 to pull away for the seven-point win.

"It was across the board tonight," said Tech head coach Chris Long. "We simply couldn't shoot. We got the looks we wanted. We executed our plays.

"The effort was there. We had 25 more shot attempts. We pulled down 23 offensive rebounds. We forced 25 turnovers. We simply couldn't score and that ultimately cost us the game."

In a game that featured six ties and four lead changes, an 11-2 run by Memphis (2-1) midway through the second half pushed a one-point 42-41 Tiger lead out to a 10-point 53-43 advantage with 8:16 to play.

Even when the Lady Techsters instituted a full court press and forced nine turnovers over the last eight minutes, it wasn't enough to offset the lack of an offensive threat anywhere on the court.

Shanavia Dowdell led Tech with 16 points and 10 rebounds but only shot 5-of-13 from the field. Whitney Jones added 14 points but was only 6-of-21 from the field.

Even Adrienne Johnson who scored a career-high 22 points in the season-opening win couldn't consistently hit as she ended with six points on 3-of-14 shooting.

Memphis was led by Ashley Thornton with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Alex Winchell with 14 points. Savannah Ellis registered a double double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

For the game, Tech hit only 29 percent (23-79) of its field goals while Memphis shot 46 percent (25-54). The Lady Techsters forced 25 Memphis turnovers but it only led to 17 points in the game.

Memphis grabbed an early eight-point lead at 11-3 at the 14:19 mark before Tech used a 10-0 run to grab a 13-11 advantage at the 10:53 mark of the opening half.

Memphis then pushed the lead out again to eight at 25-17 before the Lady Techsters closed the half on an 11-2 run to enter the locker room leading 28-27 on a Thomas three-point shot at the buzzer.

Although Tech opened the second half by holding Memphis to only one field goal in the first five minutes, the Techsters were unable to pull away.

Tech returns to action Sunday when it travels to Knoxville to face Tennessee at 2 p.m.