Dec. 11, 2009
Game Notes
RUSTON - A pair of old high school teammates will lead their respective teams into Saturday night's match-up between Louisiana Tech and Mississippi State set for a 7 p.m. tip-off at the Thomas Assembly Center.
Mississippi State senior guard Alexis Rack and Louisiana Tech junior forward Adrienne Johnson were teammates during their prep days at Franklin High School in south Louisiana where the duo led the program to four straight district titles and the Louisiana Class 3A state title in 2004 and 2005.
Rack, who is averaging 19.1 points and 4.4 assists per game for the Lady Bulldogs (5-3), poured in a career-high 43 points to lead Mississippi State to an 84-55 win over 20th ranked Maryland on Nov. 22 - a victory that propelled State into the Top 25.
Mississippi State has since fallen out of the polls after dropping three games to Texas, Rutgers, and Southern Cal during the Paradise Jam held in the Virgin Islands during the Thanksgiving break.
Johnson has had a similar affect on the Lady Techsters as she leads the team and ranks second in the Western Athletic Conference, averaging 17.7 points and 6.7 rebounds a game. Johnson has scored in double figures in all six games and hit the eventual game-winning shot in LA Tech's 63-52 come-from-behind win over Western Kentucky Wednesday night.
Mississippi State is coming off a 10-day layoff as it hasn't played since an impressive 85-52 victory over Southern Miss Dec. 2. The contest against LA Tech will also be the first road game of the year for the Lady Bulldogs, who are 5-0 at home and 0-3 in neutral site games.
The game will mark the end of a four-game stretch for LA Tech that saw Teresa Weatherspoon and Co. play four top 75 teams (based on RPI), including 7th ranked LSU, 8th ranked Baylor, Western Kentucky and now the Lady Bulldogs.
The Lady Techsters lead the all-time series against Mississippi State 5-4, although the Lady Bulldogs crushed LA Tech 72-42 in Starkville last season.
In addition to Johnson's offensive contributions for LA Tech, Shanavia Dowdell (15.7 ppg, 9.3 rpg), Whitney Jones (11.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg) and Jasmine Bendolph (9.3 ppg, 4.0 apg) have been fairly consistent threats while Weatherspoon has also seen major contributions from her bench, including Brietta Thomas (8.7 ppg) and Tarkeisha Wysinger (7.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg).
Tech is shooting 46 percent from the field and 74 percent from the free throw line, including a blistering 88 percent (56-63) from the charity stripe in the second half of its last four games.
Mississippi State will boast one of the most athletic teams that the Lady Techsters will face this season led by Rack and 6-foot-5-inch center Chanel Mokango (7.9 ppg, 8.5 rpg). The Lady Bulldogs also have three other players averaging double figures led by Tysheka Grimes (12.9 ppg), Armelia Lumanu (12.5 ppg) and Mary Katherine Govero (10.6 ppg).
The contest can be heard on ESPN 97.7 FM with the pregame show beginning at 6:30 p.m. It can also be seen streamed live on the Internet by subscribing to LA Tech All-Access by logging onto www.latechsports.com.
