Nov. 23, 2010

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RUSTON - Houston overcame a 16-point second half deficit to defeat Louisiana Tech 70-66 Tuesday night before 1,552 fans at the Thomas Assembly Center.

With the Lady Techsters leading 54-38 after a Whitney Jones layup at the 14:17 mark of the final period, the Cougars (3-0) turned up the defensive pressure and held LA Tech to only 12 points the rest of the way. Tech hit only 6-of-21 shots down the stretch while committing seven turnovers.

Courtney Taylor's steal of a Jasmine Bendolph pass resulted in an uncontested layup that gave the Cougars a 67-66 lead with 59 seconds to play. It was the first lead of the game by UH since 12:16 to play in the first half when the Cougars led 13-10 before a three-pointer by Jones tied the score.

"This was unacceptable," said Tech head coach Teresa Weatherspoon. "We didn't do anything right tonight. We set forth a game plan every day in practice and every game. Until our players start to execute the game plan, we aren't going to be the basketball team we are capable of being. I can promise you one thing though. Our coaches and players are going to work hard and give everything we have from this point forward in practice to get better."

The contest was full of runs as Tech jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead before Houston called a timeout less than two minutes into the contest. Following the timeout, Houston answered with a 13-0 run to grab a five point lead as Tech committed seven turnovers during the stretch.

However, the Lady Techsters responded and used an 11-0 run to grab a 19-13 lead. Adrienne Johnson, who became the first LA Tech player to ever start the season with four straight 20-plus point games, scored 20 of her game-high 26 points in the opening half to lead the Lady Techsters to a 36-28 halftime advantage.

Tech came out of the halftime locker room and continued its command of the game, using a couple of big three-pointers by reserve guard Martina Holloway to push the advantage out to 16 at 54-38.

However, UH applied defensive pressure and registered 19 steals in the game which resulted in 21 points, including 15 points off turnovers down the stretch when the game was on the line. Tech, which hit 10 of its first 12 free throws in the game, also missed three straight front ends of one-and-ones in the second half when it was attempting to hold onto the lead.

"I give a lot of credit to Houston," Weatherspoon said. "Those kids never quit fighting. However, we didn't help ourselves in any way tonight."

Jones scored 11 points for Tech while Tarkeisha Wysinger-Mackey added seven points and 10 rebounds and Shantale Bramble-Donaldson added six points and 11 boards.

Tech outrebounded Houston 52-38 on the night.

Porsche Landry scored 20 points for Houston, including 16 in the second half, while Taylor added 19 points and 11 rebounds.

The Lady Techsters return to action Saturday when they travel to face Missouri State at 2 p.m. in Springfield, Missouri.