Feb. 23, 2010
Complete PDF of Gamenotes
RUSTON - The top two teams in the current Western Athletic Conference face off Wednesday night when Louisiana Tech hosts Fresno State in a 7 p.m. tip-off at the Thomas Assembly Center.
Louisiana Tech enters the contest in second place with an 18-6 record, 9-3 in league play and winners of six straight games. Fresno State has already wrapped up at least a share of the 2010 WAC regular season title as the Bulldogs are 22-5 overall and a perfect 13-0 in conference play.
Fresno State has won 14 straight games and hasn't tasted defeat in almost two months as the Bulldogs last loss came at the hands of 2nd ranked Stanford 68-46 on Dec. 30 in Fresno.
The contest will be the first of two final home games for the Lady Techsters who also host Nevada Saturday at 3 p.m.
"We have an incredible week ahead of us," said Tech head coach Teresa Weatherspoon. "We just got back from Hawaii but we have no time to be tired. We have to get ready for Fresno State. They are a great, great basketball team. They haven't lost in conference this year. Our kids will be motivated and ready to protect their home court."
The contest will be the second meeting of the year between the two teams which met Jan. 23 with the Bulldogs pulling away over the final 10 minutes of the game for a 71-61 victory. With the score tied at 55-55 midway through the second half, Fresno State used a 16-6 run to close the game.
"You have to give them credit," Weatherspoon said. "They took advantage of us. We didn't play well enough to stay in the game. It was a learning experience for us. We have taken a look at the things we didn't' do well in that game, and we have another opportunity back at home to redeem ourselves."
In that contest, Fresno State junior guard Jaleesa Ross scored 31 points, including hitting six three-pointers. Ross, along with LA Tech's Shanavia Dowdell, are considered by most as the top two players in the WAC and enter the game tied for the league lead in scoring - both averaging 18.1 points per contest.
"Jaleesa is the engine that makes them run," Weatherspoon said. "We need to do a much better job against her than we did last time. However, we cannot allow the rest of them to go off which they are capable of doing. They are a very talented team, but she is definitely the one that gets them going."
Fresno State has won 15 straight regular season league games with its last loss coming at the hands of the Lady Techsters last March at the Save Mart Center.
Dowdell had a subpar performance against the Bulldogs back in January, hitting only 4-of-12 field goals while scoring 11 points and grabbing 15 rebounds in 40 minutes of action. The Calera, Alabama native has recorded 10 straight double doubles and ranks third in the country with 16 on the season.
Louisiana Tech leads the all-time series against the Bulldogs 14-7 but Fresno State has won six of the last seven, including two straight in Ruston.
The contest can be heard on the LA Tech Sports Network on ESPN 97.7 FM and KBYO 92.7 FM with the pregame show beginning at 6:30 p.m. It can also be seen live on the internet by subscribing to LA Tech All-Access at www.latechsports.com.
