Feb. 6, 2008
BOISE - Louisiana Tech looks to get back on the winning track when the Lady Techsters face Boise State Thursday at 8 p.m. CST at Taco Bell Arena.
Tech (10-11, 4-4 WAC) saw its modest two-game winning streak snapped Monday night at home in an 82-63 loss to league-leading Fresno State.
Boise State (15-6, 7-2 WAC) has won seven straight games since opening the WAC season with two straight losses and the Broncos are a perfect 8-0 at home this year.
To compound difficulties, Tech faced travel issues en route to Boise Wednesday as weather in Atlanta forced the Lady Techsters to miss their connection. Tech didn't arrive in Boise until after 11 p.m. Wednesday night after leaving Ruston at 4:30 a.m.
"Boise State is a very well coached, very disciplined basketball team," said Tech head coach Chris Long, who saw his team fall to the Broncos 85-68 in Ruston on Jan. 12. "They present a lot of the same match-up problems that Fresno State did and we will have to do a much better job in all phases of the game."
Tech continues to be led by senior forward JoKeirra Sneed, who is averaging 15.0 points and 10.1 rebounds a game while shooting 56 percent from the field and 71 percent from the free throw line.
Sneed scored a career-high 27 points in the loss to Fresno State and has eclipsed the 20-point plateau in four of the eight WAC games this year. She leads the league with 15 double doubles.
Boise State is led by its dynamic guard tandem of Tasha Harris (17.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 31 three-pointers) and Jessica Thompson (14.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 36 three-pointers). As a team, Boise State ranks second in the WAC in three-point field goals, hitting 144 on the season.
In the first matchup of the year between the two programs, Boise State outrebounded the Lady Techsters by 10, something Long said his team would have to remedy this time out.
"In order for us to be successful in this game, we have to rebound," Long said. "Our guards have to do a much better job on the boards then they did the first time we faced them. They shoot a lot of threes and thus there are a lot of long rebounds. Our guards have to block out."
What: Louisiana Tech (10-11, 4-4 WAC) at Boise State (15-6, 7-2 WAC) Where: Taco Bell Arena in Boise, Idaho When: 8 p.m. CST Radio: KXKZ 107.5 FM Internet: www.z1075fm.com
