Dec. 21, 2011

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RUSTON - Whitney Frazier scored a career-high 20 points to lead five Louisiana Tech players in double figures as the Lady Techsters defeated Tennessee Tech 82-64 before 2,479 fans at the Thomas Assembly Center Wednesday afternoon.

With the victory, Tech (7-7) enters Christmas break having won five of its last six games as the Lady Techsters will return to the floor Dec. 29 when they host LSU at 7 p.m.

Frazier hit 9-of-11 field goals and 2-of-2 free throws and scored 16 of her game-high 20 points in the opening half helping Louisiana Tech build a 39-28 halftime advantage. The freshman from El Dorado, Arkansas hit her first four shots from the field as she scored eight of the first 10 points of the game for LA Tech.

"Anytime you can get some easy buckets early, it really builds your confidence," said Tech head coach Teresa Weatherspoon. "Whitney looked very confident after her early success and you could see that confidence build as the game progressed. She took her time and knocked down some mid-range jumpers. It was good to see her have that type of success."

Frazier, whose previous career-high was 16 points in a win over Houston, joined Jelena Vucinic (13 points), Shantale Bramble-Donaldson (10 points), Jasmine Bendolph (10 points) and Angie Felton (10 points) in double figures.

For the game, the Lady Techsters shot 56 percent (27-48) from the field, 5-of-8 from the three-point line and 74 percent (23-31) from the free throw line.

Bendolph, who didn't attempt a shot in the first half, ended the game 4-of-4 from the field with six assists and zero turnovers.

"Jasmine really did a nice job of distributing the basketball for us early," Weatherspoon said. "She can do so much more than just distribute though. She can score when she needs to and she can defend. She is a very smart player. She does whatever we need her to do to be successful."

Tennessee Tech (4-8) opened the game by hitting 7 of its first 14 field goals as Golden Eagles guard Tacarra Hayes scored nine early points. The game was tied at 16-16 at the first media timeout at the 13:53 mark but five straight points by the Lady Techsters - all coming at the free throw line - started a 20-8 run. Vucinic's third three-pointer of the opening half gave Tech a 36-24 advantage with 3:39 to play.

Tech entered the half leading 39-28.

After Tennessee Tech opened the second half by scoring the first four points and cutting Tech's lead down to 39-32, the Lady Techsters responded. Four points by both Vucinic and Bendolph highlighted a 12-2 run over the next three minutes as Tech built its advantage to 51-34 with 16:59 to play.

Defensively, Tech did a much better job against Hayes, who entered the game averaging over 28 points a game in her last three contests. The senior guard ended the night with 18 points - her season average - but was slowed considerably in the second half.

"I thought we really settled down, made some nice adjustments and did a good job against her," Weatherspoon said. "You could see she is a very good offensive player. I thought we forced her to take some contested shots and even confused her a times. We made it tough on her."

The lead continued to grow and Courtney Hayes' free throw at the 11:39 mark of the game gave Tech's its largest advantage at 65-41.

Weatherspoon turned to her bench for the final 10 minutes of the game as Tennessee Tech never got closer than 16 points the rest of the way.

Molly Heady added 17 points and Jala Harris 11 for the Golden Eagles.