Feb. 12, 2011

Box Score

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico - Adrienne Johnson and Tarkeisha Wysinger-Mackey each recorded double doubles and Louisiana Tech used a big second half to down New Mexico State 88-79 Saturday night before 1,176 fans at the Pan American Center.

With the victory, Tech (18-5, 10-0 WAC) extended its winnings streak to 11 games and maintained its two-game lead over Fresno State in the Western Athletic Conference standings.

The win wouldn't come easy as Tech found itself trailing at the half, but Johnson recorded her 11th double double of the year with 24 points and 15 rebounds while Wysinger-Mackey scored a season-high 23 points and added 10 rebounds to lift the Lady Techsters to their seventh straight win in the series.

Playing without its second leading scorer in senior guard Whitney Jones, the Lady Techsters built an early 18-10 lead as Johnson scored eight points. However, the Aggies (10-13, 4-5 WAC) rallied and two free throws by guard Jasmine Lowe with 1.8 seconds remaining in the opening half capped a 27-18 run as New Mexico State entered the locker room leading 37-36.

Teresa Weatherspoon and Co. opened the second half strong as a pair of Brietta Thomas three's ignited a 20-7 run that saw the Lady Techsters regain the advantage at 56-44 with 13:38 to play in the game.

Tech pushed the advantage out to as many as 13 at 64-51 on a pair of Jasmine Bendolph free throws with 10:22 to play but NMSU senior guard Madison Spence would let the Aggies go quietly.

Spence scored 23 of her game-high 29 points after halftime, including 16 in the final 10 minutes of play as she led the Aggies back as NMSU pulled to within 77-73 with 55 seconds remaining.

However, the Lady Techsters were stellar at the free throw line all night long, including 11-of-12 in the final minute of the game to seal the victory.

After combining to score only 14 points in the first half, Johnson and Wysinger-Mackey combined to score 33 points after halftime.

Bendolph added 16 points, seven assists, five rebounds and only one turnovers while Kiara Young came off the bench to score 11 points.

For the game, Tech shot 43 percent (26-60) from the field, 5-of-11 from the three-point line and an impressive 84 percent (31-of-37) from the free throw line. NMSU shot 40 percent (30-75) from the field, 6-of-15 from the three-point line and 81 percent (13-of-16) from the free throw line.

NSMU outrebounded Tech 44-38 in the game.

In addition to Spence's big night, Jasmine Lowe scored 18 points, Danisha Corbett 12 points and Tabytha Wampler 11 points for the Aggies.

Tech returns to action Thursday when the Lady Techsters host Hawaii at 7 p.m. at the Thomas Assembly Center.