Jan. 9, 2009

Box Score

RENO -- Cherlanda Franklin scored 17 points to lead three Nevada players in double figures as the Wolf Pack downed Louisiana Tech 64-57 Thursday night at Lawlor Events Center.

Franklin received offensive help from teammates Brandi Jones with 15 points and Dellena Criner with 12 points but it was LA Tech's inability to keep the Wolf Pack (7-7, 1-0 WAC) off the offensive glass that was the deciding factor in the game.

Nevada outrebounded Tech 49-36 in the game, including pulling down 26 offensive rebounds.

"That was the difference in the game," said Tech head coach Chris Long. "They crashed the boards, and we didn't do our job of keeping them off the offensive glass. We knew they would be active on the glass. I don't know if it was the altitude or what but it looked like we were running in quick sand tonight. We were a step slow."

Nevada came out of the gate strong, building an early 14-2 lead as Tech hit only 1 of its first seven shots and committed six turnovers in the first five minutes of the game. The Wolf Pack pushed the advantage out to 21-8 midway through the opening half thanks in large part to their ability to get to the free throw line, where Nevada hit 12-of-15 in the opening 20 minutes.

Tech (7-8, 0-1) responded with a 17-5 run over the next five minutes of play to cut the Nevada advantage down to 26-25 on a three-point play by Shanavia Dowdell with 4:55 to play.

However, Nevada closed the half on an 8-1 run, including a buzzer beating three-pointer by Criner to take a 34-26 lead into the halftime lockerroom. Tech missed its final six shots of the opening half.

The Nevada momentum continued in the second half as the Wolf Pack used a 13-2 run to built a commanding 47-28 lead on a three-point play by Franklin with 16:25 to play. Franklin scored nine points during the run.

Tech cut the lead to 57-44 with 8:40 to play on a Whitney Jones jumper and had opportunities to get within single digits but the Lady Techsters hit only 5-of-15 free throws in the final 20 minutes.

For the game, Tech outshot Nevada as the Lady Techsters hit 40 percent (23-58) of its field goals while the Wolf Pack connected on 37 percent (23-62) of their shots.

However, Nevada made 16-of-26 free throws compared to 7-of-18 for LA Tech.

Jones led Tech with 14 points while Shanavia Dowdell added 11 points and 10 rebounds and Adrienne Johnson added 11 points.

Tech returns to action Saturday when the Lady Techsters face Utah State at 8 p.m. CST.