Dec. 28, 2009
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SAN ANTONIO - Louisiana Tech will open play at the 2009 UTSA New Year's Classic Tuesday at 5 p.m. when the Lady Techsters face Stephen F. Austin at 5 p.m. at the UTSA Convocation Center.
Following the Lady Techsters game, the host school UTSA will face Maine in the second game of the opening night of action. Wednesday's second round will pit Maine against SFA at 5 p.m. and then LA Tech against UTSA at 7 p.m.
LA Tech (6-3) has won two in a row and three of its last four after an 86-76 win over Memphis Dec. 22 in Ruston in a game that saw the Lady Techsters overcome a 13-point first half deficit. The Lady Techsters continue to shine offensively, averaging 77.9 points per game which ranks in the top 20 in the country while shooting 48 percent from the field which also ranks among the nation's leaders.
Head coach Teresa Weatherspoon's team has received balance scoring through the early part of the season as Tech boasts three players averaging double figures led by Adrienne Johnson (18.8 ppg), Shanavia Dowdell (15.8 ppg) and Whitney Jones (12.0 ppg).
Tech has seen nine of its 10 active players score in double figures in at least one game this year, something that Weatherspoon said is critical for her team's success.
"We always tell our kids that they never know when they will be called upon," Weatherspoon said. "The more balance we have, the better basketball team we are. It's a team game and all 10 of our young ladies know that every know might be their night."
Stephen F. Austin (5-3) has won four of its five games by double digits this year as the Ladyjacks will use full-court pressure to offset the size disadvantage that they have against LA Tech.
Despite shooting only 34 percent from the field as a team through eight games, SFA has averaged almost 73 points per game due to the fact they are forcing an average of more than 28 turnovers per game and they are shooting 76 percent as a team from the free throw line.
SFA's two starting post players are 5-foot-10-inch Jordan Ford and 5-foot-11-inch Antoinette Davis, who are both very talented and active but who will be giving up some size inside in their match-ups against Johnson and Dowdell.
Senior guard Whitney Cormer (15.5 ppg) leads SFA offensively while Ford (10.1 ppg) and guard Courtney Conwright (8.5 ppg) are also contributing on a nightly basis. Head coach LeeAnn Riley uses a deep bench as 10 different SFA players are averaging at least 11 minutes per game.
The Ladyjacks three losses this year have come against Texas A&M, Michigan and Tulane, three teams who have a combined mark of 26-5.
LA Tech fans can listen to all the action on the LA Tech Sports Network on ESPN 97.7 FM with Malcolm Butler providing the play-by-play with the 30-minute pregame show starting at 4:30 p.m.
Fans can follow all the action via gametracker by logging onto www.goutsa.com. The Lady Techsters game against UTSA on Wednesday can also be seen via the Internet at www.goutsa.com.
