Nov. 25, 2008
RUSTON -- Louisiana Tech returns home Wednesday night as the Lady Techsters host Nicholls State at 7 p.m. at the Thomas Assembly Center.
Tech (1-2) has lost two straight road games after opening the season with a 41-point win over Central Arkansas while Nicholls State (0-1) lost its season opener to South Alabama.
The Lady Techsters are coming off a loss at 13th ranked Tennessee Sunday and head coach Chris Long knows his team needs to improve in a number of areas.
"This is an important game for our players because it is the next game," Long said. "It's a chance to improve. We played with great effort at Tennessee but foul trouble put us in a tough spot to finish the game. It is important that we play with great intensity without fouling.
"We will be looking to see our offensive execution improve. There is a style of basketball we want to play, and we must be the ones to dictate that on the court."
Sophomore guard Whitney Jones leads Louisiana Tech after her career-high 23-point outburst in the loss to the Lady Vols. Jones is averaging 16.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.
Forwards Shanavia Dowdell (12.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg) and Adrienne Johnson (12.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg) have also been producing offensively for the Lady Techsters.
Tech must improve on its shooting as the Lady Techsters are hitting only 34 percent of their field goals, 28 percent of their three-pointers and 49 percent of their free throws.
Nicholls State is under the direction of first year head coach DoBee Plaisance and the Colonels have not played since a Nov. 14 loss at South Alabama.
"Nicholls State has only played one game," said Long. "They have had two weeks of practice since then so I don't know if we will see any new wrinkles or not. The thing that stood out watching film on Nicholls State is they play hard and they have some athletes."
In the loss to USA, Nicholls was led by true freshman Jasmine Hoskins with a team-high nine points and seven rebounds. Of Hoskins' nine points, seven of them were from the charity stripe.
Also standing out for the Colonels was senior Dominique Washington with seven points and six rebounds.
"This is a great opportunity for our team," Plaisance said. "We are looking forward to keep on building and growing as a team on this road swing."
Tech leads the all-time series against Nicholls State 13-0, including a 6-0 mark in Ruston.
The contest can be heard on KPCH 99.3 FM and FOX 92.7 FM as well as via the Internet at www.thepeach993.com.
Tech fans can also watch the game streamed live for $4.99 at www.latechtv.com by clicking on the athletics tab at the top of the page. Fans will be able to sign up for the game starting one hour prior to tip-off.
