March 2, 2010
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MOSCOW, Idaho - Although Louisiana Tech has never lost to Idaho - the Lady Techsters lead the series 10-0 - , the Vandals play head coach Teresa Weatherspoon's team as tight as almost any other Western Athletic Conference team.
On Wednesday night, Idaho will try to snap their winless streak against the Lady Techsters when the two teams meet at Cowan Spectrum at 10 p.m. CT in a nationally-televised game on ESPNU.
Trey Bender and Abby Waner will provide the play-by-play and analysis as Tech (19-7, 10-4 WAC) looks to sweep the season series from Idaho (9-18, 7-7) for the fifth straight year.
Two of the last three meetings between the two programs have gone to overtime, including a 74-71 victory by the Lady Techsters in a Jan. 30 meeting in Ruston. In that contest, Idaho led by four points with less than 20 seconds to play in regulation before Tiawana Pringle and Jasmine Bendolph hit back-to-back three-pointers in the closing seconds to send the game to an extra period.
In the extra period, Tech outscored Idaho 14-11 for the win.
"I'm sure they are a very confident basketball team," Weatherspoon said. "They are playing well right now and they've played us close. We are also a confident team. It should be an all-out battle.
"Idaho is a very good team. They spread us out and they want to get into the painted area and then kick it out to their shooters. We must be great one-on-one defenders and we must also stay close to their shooters and not allow them to get into their comfort zone."
The Vandals are one of the top three-point shooting teams in the WAC as all five starters have made at least 24 three-pointers including Bianca Cheever who has hit a team-high 46 treys on the year. As a team, Idaho has hit 185 three-pointers.
Rachel Kloke (14.7 ppg, 27 three-pointers), Shaena Kuehu (11.3 ppg, 30 three-pointers), and Yinka Olorunnife (10.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 24 three-pointers) are the top offensive threats for Idaho which has won three straight games and four of its last five.
Idaho is tied for fourth place in the WAC standings with New Mexico State while Boise State is one game behind the two in sixth place. The Vandals are fighting for conference seeding in the upcoming league tournament and depending on the results in their final two games, could end up fourth, fifth or sixth.
"Obviously, they are fighting for (seeding) just like we are," Weatherspoon said. "Both teams want to finish the season in good standing."
LA Tech has won seven of its last eight games with the lone setback being an 81-78 overtime loss to Fresno State last week. The Lady Techsters are currently alone in second place but only one full game in front of Nevada, the host of the upcoming league tournament.
Senior forward Shanavia Dowdell (18.3 ppg, 12.6 rpg) has a streak of 12 straight double doubles and needs only 21 more rebounds to become the all-time leading rebounder in the history of the WAC. Dowdell has 19 double doubles on the season, including 22 points and 11 rebounds in the first meeting of the year against Idaho.
The contest can be heard on the LA Tech Sports Network on ESPN 97.7 FM with the pregame show beginning at 9:30 p.m.
