Jan. 3, 2009

Box Score

LAKE CHARLES, La. -- Shante Perry put on a shooting exhibition Saturday afternoon at Burton Coliseum, lifting McNeese State to a 71-66 win over Louisiana Tech before a record crowd 1,311 fans.

Perry hit 14-of-25 shots, including 9-of-10 from the three-point line, and scored 39 points as McNeese State improved to 8-5 on the season while Louisiana Tech fell to 7-7 heading into Western Athletic Conference play this week.

"I congratulate McNeese State and give them a lot of credit," said Tech head coach Chris Long. "They played a great basketball game. Perry had one of the most incredible games I've ever watched. She hit shot after shot and most of them contested.

"We were concerned about getting into foul trouble coming into this game, and we did. It altered some of the things we wanted to do in the second half."

Tech struggled offensively in the first half, hitting only 31 percent (9-29) of its field goals as McNeese State led 32-26 at the half.

The Cowgirls led almost the entire opening 20 minutes building as much as an eight point lead on a couple of occasions before Tech used a late run to grab a 24-22 lead with 4:02 to play.

However, Perry answered with eight straight points as McNeese State took the six point lead into the halftime locker-room.

Tech came out of the locker room and scored the first 13 points to grab a 39-32 lead forcing McNeese State to call a timeout less than four minutes into the second half.

However, once again the Cowgirls answered with a 25-10 run to take a 57-49 lead with 6:41 to play on a Perry three-pointer.

The Lady Techsters then took their turn answering the bell, scoring 10 straight points and grabbing a 59-57 lead on a Keshia Warren layup with 4:37 to play.

The game remained a one possession contest over the next few minutes until Perry nailed her ninth three-pointer of the game with 2:22 to play to give McNeese State a five point lead and the eventual win.

Shanavia Dowdell led Tech with 16 points and 15 rebounds while Whitney Jones added 15 points and Adrienne Johnson chipped in with 12 points and eight rebounds.

Tech hit 39 percent (22-56) of its field goals and 67 percent (18-27) of its free throws while McNeese State hit 43 percent (23-53) of its field goals and 57 percent (12-21) of its three-pointers.

Tech opens WAC play Thursday at Nevada at 9 p.m. CST.