Jan. 10, 2009

Box Score

LOGAN -- In a battle of the top two defensive teams in the Western Athletic Conference, offense proved to be the name of the game as Louisiana Tech downed Utah State 90-82 in overtime at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Saturday night.

Tech (8-8, 1-1 WAC) rallied from seven points down with seven minutes to play to take a late lead before Utah State (7-9, 1-2 WAC) sent the game into overtime with an Ana Pares bucket with 5 seconds to play.

The Lady Techsters outscored the Aggies 19-11 in the extra period to record their first road victory of the season in a game that featured nine ties and 11 lead changes.

"We were a very determined basketball team tonight," said Tech head coach Chris Long. "Utah State is a solid team that will win their share of WAC games. I'm proud of our team. We battled all night and showed a lot of poise down the stretch."

Tech trailed 63-56 on a Danyelle Snelgro bucket with 7:27 to play before the Lady Techsters used a 15-8 run to end regulation.

Trailing 67-63 with two minutes to play, Whitney Jones -- who scored a career-high 31 points on 14-of-20 shooting -- buried a three-pointer from the right wing with 1:40 to play to cut the deficit to one.

After a Utah State turnover, Jones came through again as she dove out of bounds for a loose basketball and threw it back under the goal to Shanavia Dowdell who laid it in for a 68-67 lead with 1:01 to play.

The Aggies then retook the lead on a Snelgro jumper with 47 seconds to play before Tech answered the call again as Dowdell found Sidney Stewart for a layup and a 70-69 lead with 34 seconds to play.

Utah State turned the ball over on the ensuing possession and was forced to foul as Tiawana Pringle hit 1-of-2 free throws with 17 seconds to play setting up Pares heroics to tie the game and send it into overtime.

In overtime, Stewart nailed a long three-pointer with three minutes to play to give Tech a 78-75 lead and the Techsters hit 10-of-14 free throws to secure the victory.

Tech built a nine-point lead in the first half at 28-19 before the Aggies responded by ending the half on a 13-4 run as the two teams entered the locker room tied at 32-32.

The Lady Techsters took an early 39-33 lead in the second half before Utah State used a 30-17 run to grab its biggest lead of the game at seven points with just over seven minutes to play.

In addition to Jones' 31 points, Adrienne Johnson added 22 points and 10 rebounds, Dowdell chipped in with 14 points and nine boards and Stewart scored 12 points.

"Whitney and Adrienne were outstanding tonight, but I thought a lot of players contributed to the win," Long said. "We made plays down the stretch in regulation and overtime."

Pares led Utah State with 20 points, while Snelgro scored 19 points and Lydia Whitehead added 13 points.

Both teams shot the basketball well as Tech hit 50 percent (32-64) of its field goals while Utah State connected on 52 percent (35-68) of their shots. Both teams hit four three-pointers but Tech hit 22-of-35 free throws while Utah State made 8-of-14.

The Lady Techsters return to action Friday at 7 p.m. at home against Fresno State.