Feb. 7, 2011

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RUSTON - Adrienne Johnson scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and reached a milestone while leading Louisiana Tech to an 85-63 win over New Mexico State Monday Night at the Thomas Assembly Center.

Johnson's layup at the 9:17 mark of the first half pushed her past former Kodak All-American Nora Lewis and into 10th place on the Louisiana Tech all-time scoring list, joining an elite group of Techster greats that includes seven former Kodak All-Americans.

However, despite recording her 10th double double of the year, Johnson battled foul trouble all night long playing only 24 minutes before fouling out with over five minutes to play in the game.

With the All-American saddled with foul difficulty most of the game, the rest of the Techster team didn't miss a beat as three other LA Tech players scored in double figures while 11 of the 12 that played in the game scored.

And although Tech (17-5, 9-0 WAC) eclipsed the 85-point mark for the fifth time in the last seven games, LA Tech head coach Teresa Weatherspoon said the victory started on the defensive end of the floor.

"I thought we defended them pretty well, especially in the second half," said Weatherspoon, who saw her team limit the dangerous Aggies team to only 2-of-15 from the three-point line. "In the first half we allowed them to pass the ball around the perimeter a little too easily. We didn't make things as difficult.

"We did a better job in the second half. Overall, I thought we executed our defensive game plan pretty well for most of the night."

New Mexico State (10-12, 4-4 WAC) entered the game with its three starting guards of Madison Spence, Jasmine Lowe and Danisha Corbett having combined for 106 three-point field goals on the year. However, under pressure by Tech's defenders, the three-some hit only 2-of-12 on the night.

After the Aggies took a 14-13 lead on a three-pointer by Lowe with 14:13 to play in the first half, Tech clamped down and used a 20-3 run over the next seven minutes to build a 33-17 advantage. While Johnson was doing her damage on the inside, junior point guard Jasmine Bendolph was having her way on the perimeter.

Bendolph hit 6-of-12 field goals, including a season-high three three-pointers, and scored 17 points while adding five assists and four rebounds and no turnovers.

"I thought Jasmine really had a good floor game for us," Weatherspoon said. "She really ran the show tonight. It's such a luxury when you have a point guard who is an extension of you on the court. She is starting to find her offensive rhythm."

Bendolph's effort came two nights after she scored a season-high 21 points in Tech's 90-84 overtime win over Fresno State. The Mobile, Alabama native is averaging 17.0 points per game in the Lady Techsters last three wins.

She isn't alone in her new found offensive groove as senior guard Tarkeisha Wysinger-Mackey had another stellar performance, scoring 14 points, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists. Wysinger-Mackey has now scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games and has improved drastically on her free throw percentage - hitting 29-of-40 over the last five games after hitting only 41 percent prior.

"So many times when you are struggling at the free throw line it can affect you in other areas of your game," Weatherspoon said. "She has really found a comfort level at the free throw line and you can see it's helped her."

Tech took a 39-32 halftime lead into the locker room before scoring the first seven points of the second half in less than 60 seconds to push the advantage out to 46-32. NMSU would get no closer than 11 points the rest of the way as the Tech bench played well down the stretch in pushing the lead out to the final margin of 22.

Whitney Jones added 16 points for Tech.

NMSU was led by Jasmine Lowe with 16 and Madison Spence with 14.

Tech returns to action Saturday when it travels to Las Cruces to face New Mexico State at 8 p.m. CT at the Pan American Center.