Jan. 6, 2011

Box Score

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Louisiana Tech overcame a sluggish first half and pulled away over the final 20 minutes to down San Jose State 69-34 in the Western Athletic Conference opener for both teams at The Events Center in San Jose.

Adrienne Johnson led Tech with 16 points, six rebounds, four steals and three blocks while Whitney Jones added 11 points. Jones, a West Monroe native, hit a milestone during the game, becoming the 40th player in Techster history to score at least 1,000 career points.

In an opening half that saw the Lady Techsters struggle offensively, Tech (9-5, 1-0 WAC) shot only 28 percent (9-32) from the field and entered the halftime locker room with a 27-18 lead.

"We talked to our players leading up to the game about not overlooking this game and this team," said Tech head coach Teresa Weatherspoon. "In the first half we didn't come out with the energy that we needed. I give a lot of credit to San Jose State. Those kids played their tails off.

"A lot of times when teams are struggling they become more and more hungry to win. That's what San Jose State was ... a hungry basketball team."

Tech led 19-18 after a jumper by Spartan guard AJ Newton with 6:06 to play in the half before holding San Jose State scoreless the rest of the way. Kiara Young's three-pointer with 40 seconds to play in the first half capped an 8-0 run and gave the Lady Techsters the nine-point halftime advantage.

Weatherspoon and Co. got off to a much better start in the second half scoring the first 10 points. San Jose State guard Sara Plavljanin's jumper with 15:29 to play ended a more than 10-minute drought where the Spartans were without a field goal.

Tech eventually pushed its lead to 48-21 on a free throw by Young with 11:00 to play as the Lady Techsters used the 29-3 run to gain the separation it needed.

"I thought we really fed off the energy that Tarkeisha Wysinger-Mackey brought on the defensive end in the second half," Weatherspoon said. "We settled down and played. I thought we settled for too many three-pointers in the first half and the game really, but the second half we were better at getting the ball inside."

Tech shot 52 percent (17-33) from the field in the second half while outscoring San Jose State 42-16.

For the game, Tech hit 40 percent (26-65) of its field goals, but connected on only 8-of-26 three-pointers and 9-of-16 free throws. San Jose State hit only 27 percent (12-44) of its field goals while committing 25 turnovers.

Tech returns to action Saturday when it faces Hawaii at 9 p.m. CT.