Jan. 24, 2009

Box Score

MOSCOW -- As the Louisiana Tech players came off the court at the end of regulation, junior guard Tiawana Pringle was furious ... with herself.

Pringle had only seconds earlier committed a turnover with 10 seconds to play that led to Idaho capping off an incredible comeback from 18 points down and tying the game up and sending it into overtime.

However, Pringle would have a say in the final outcome as her 15-foot jumper with 00:18 to play in overtime proved to be the difference in the Lady Techsters 67-63 win over the Vandals at the Cowan Spectrum Friday night.

"She came up big," said Tech head coach Chris Long. "Her and Adrienne (Johnson) both had tough moments tonight, and neither one of them let it affect them. That was a big-time shot with the shot clock running down and the game tied. I'm not happy with how we played down the stretch in regulation, but bottom line is our kids stayed poised and found a way to win."

Pringle ended the night with 15 points and 11 rebounds -- her first career double double -- and added six assists and only three turnovers in 41 minutes.

Her biggest shot of the night came with the shot clock running down and after Idaho had mounted yet another comeback in overtime, erasing a 63-58 Tech lead as Alana Curtis tied the game with a three-pointer with 00:50 to play.

Pringle drove to the elbow and hit a high arching shot to give Tech a 65-63 lead. After Idaho's Yinka Olorunnife missed a game-tying attempt with less than 10 seconds to play, Pringle pulled down her 11th rebound and found Johnson who was fouled.

The sophomore forward buried both free throws to seal the victory. Johnson joined her teammate in the heroics category as the sophomore forward scored 20 points, grabbed nine rebounds and added five steals in 41 minutes of action.

"That's what I like about Adrienne," Long said. "She could have easily hung her head but she didn't. Instead, she played that much harder and she hit some big shots for us as well."

Johnson's night started slow, missing her first five shots, including three or four from point-blank range. However, she steadied the ship and ended the first half with 10 points and then scored four big points in the extra session.

Idaho came out of the gate strong, hitting 5 of its first six shots and building an early 10-3 lead before Pringle and sophomore guard Whitney Jones started connecting from the three-point line. The duo hit four treys in the first seven minutes to park a 16-2 LA Tech run as the Lady Techsters took a 19-12 advantage midway through the first half.

The two teams traded buckets for the rest of the half as Brietta Thomas' jumper at the end of the half gave Tech a 35-27 lead at the intermission.

The Lady Techsters came out fast in the second half, hitting on all cylinders on both ends of the floor. Shanavia Dowdell's layup with 11:47 to play gave Tech a 50-32 advantage.

However, Tech hit only 3-of-19 field goals down the stretch as the Vandals used a 24-6 run to close regulation, including an 11-0 run over the final 4:20 of play.

Idaho had two chances to win the game in regulation as Derisa Telani missed the second of two free throws with 7 seconds to play and then misfired on a 12-foot jumper in the lane with 2 seconds to play.

Jones added 18 points while Dowdell recorded her WAC-leading 11th double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Yinka Olorunnife led Idaho with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Shaena Kuehu scored 12 points and Taleni 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Tech returns to action Sunday when they face Boise State at 3 p.m. CST in Boise.