Jan. 5, 2010
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RUSTON - Fresh off a 76-68 win over Southern Miss, Louisiana Tech will open Western Athletic Conference play Wednesday night when the Lady Techsters host Utah State at 7 p.m. at the Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston.
Tech (9-3) has won five straight games, including its last four by 10 points or less, and will look to win its league opener for the first time in three years after falling to Nevada and Fresno State the past two seasons.
Utah State (8-5) enters the contest with its own impressive winning streak, having recorded four straight victories including a 78-70 win over UNLV in its last outing.
The game features the league's top scoring team against the league's top defensive team as Louisiana Tech ranks No. 1 in the WAC and 21st nationally in scoring offense at 77.0 points per contest while Utah State ranks No. 1 in the WAC and 22nd nationally in scoring defense at 54.5 points per outing.
LA Tech has scored 70 or more points eight times this year while Utah State has only allowed 70 or more points once - in its 78-70 win over UNLV.
Reigning WAC Player of the Week Shanavia Dowdell continues to dominate opposing teams, averaging WAC-bests in scoring at 17.7 points and rebounding at 10.7 rebounds - the latter ranking 15th nationally. After getting off to a slow start offensively, Dowdell has averaged 19.7 points per game while shooting 57 percent from the field over the last nine contests.
Adrienne Johnson (16.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and Whitney Jones (12.0 ppg) continue to provide additional offensive threats for LA Tech while Jasmine Bendolph is coming off a 14-point, 8-assist performance in the win over Southern Miss.
Tech has also received plenty of offensive support from its bench as Tarkeisha Wysinger (8.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg), Brietta Thomas (7.3 ppg), Kiara Young (3.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and Martina Holloway (2.0 ppg) have all scored in double figures at least one time during the current five game winning streak.
Utah State also boasts a balanced offensive attack, although the Aggies are averaging only 59.8 points per contest. Guard Amber White is the team's only double digit scorer, averaging 11.3 points per contest while shooting 48 percent (10-21) from the three-point line.
Alice Coddington (8.4 ppg), Trisha Goddard (8.2 ppg), LaCale Pringle-Buchanan (7.5 ppg), and Lydia Whitehead (7.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg) are the other top Aggies offensive players.
Louisiana Tech and Utah State also rank No. 1 and No. 2 in field goal percentage (Tech at 46.1 and USU at 41.3) and in defensive field goal percentage defense (Tech at 36.3 and USU at 37.8).
Tech leads the all-time series against Utah State 8-0, including a pair of wins in close games last year, prevailing 90-82 in overtime in Logan and 53-46 in Ruston.
The contest can be heard on the LA Tech Sports Network on ESPN 97.7 FM and KBYO 92.7 FM with Malcolm Butler providing the play by play action starting with the pregame show at 6:30 p.m.
