Jan. 9, 2011

Box Score

HONOLULU - For the third time in six years, Louisiana Tech went to overtime in Honolulu as the Lady Techsters overcame a valiant effort by Hawaii in a 74-69 victory at the Stan Sheriff Center Saturday night.

Tech (10-5, 2-0 WAC) shot only 34 percent (23-67) for the game and was outrebounded 52-35 by the Rainbow Wahine (6-9, 0-2 WAC) but the Lady Techsters connected on 23-of-27 free throws, including all seven in the extra period, to pick up the win.

With the victory, Tech improves to 23-3 all-time against Hawaii including a 13-2 mark in Honolulu.

"We are a long way away from being a team," said Tech head coach Teresa Weatherspoon. "I find it hard to find any good out of this game. The one thing I can say is when we needed to make plays down the stretch we found a way to make them.

"I give Hawaii a lot of credit. They played well. They made things difficult. I take nothing away from their effort. I do find a lot of fault in ours across the board."

Hawaii had multiple opportunities to put the game away, including a golden opportunity with 2.8 seconds to play in regulation. With Tech leading 61-60, Hawaii freshman Kamilah Jackson was fouled and went to the line to shoot two free throws.

However, Jackson misfired on the first attempt before connecting on the second to tie the game at 61-61 and send it into overtime.

In the extra period, Tech took an early 63-61 lead on a layup by guard Martina Holloway, who finished with a career-high 13 points in 27 minutes.

With the game tied at 67-67, senior guard Whitney Jones hit a driving layup with 1:20 to play in the overtime period and then hit a free throw to complete the conventional three-point play and give LA Tech a 70-67 advantage.

After two free throws by Hawaii guard Megan Tinnin with 57 seconds to play, Adrienne Johsnon missed on a contested layup and the Rainbow Wahine corralled the defensive rebound. Following a timeout, Hawaii forward Julita Bungaite missed on an open 18-footer with 17 seconds to play and Jones pulled down the defensive rebound.

Hawaii fouled Holloway with 5.6 seconds to play as the Albuquerque native hit both free throws to up the LA Tech advantage to 72-69.

The Rainbow Wahine had one last chance to tie it up but Tinnin's three-pointer was off the mark and Shantale Bramble-Donaldson pulled down the defensive rebound and was fouled with one-tenth of a second to play to seal the Tech victory.

Jones led Tech with 18 points, including 15 in the second half and overtime, while Johnson added 15 points and nine rebounds. Holloway scored a career-high 13 points, including 6-of-6 at the free throw line, while Tarkeisha Wysinger-Mackey scored 11 points while playing all 45 minutes.

Jackson led Hawaii with 18 points and 20 rebounds while Keisha Kanekoa added 11 points and Shawna-Lei Kuehu scored 10 points.

LA Tech returns to action Thursday when they face Fresno State at the Save Mart Center in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPNU.