GameDay Central | Game Notes

RUSTON - Although Tyler Summitt is in his first year as the head coach at Louisiana Tech, he is plenty familiar with the LSU Tigers and the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

In fact, the two coaching staffs are basically one big family, all relocated to the Bayou State from Knoxville, Tennessee.

"I've been down to Baton Rouge countless times just with Tennessee's (women) going on trips down there, with our men's team at Tennessee going down there," Summitt said. "I am very excited to go down there again. (LSU head coach) Nikki Caldwell is a close friend. Tasha Butts, their whole staff are very close friends with Mickie, me and our whole staff. It will be a special game."

On Wednesday night, the Louisiana women's basketball version of the Hatfield's and the McCoy's will take place when the Lady Tigers host the Lady Techsters at 6 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

"LSU should be a great game. We have a lot of respect for Nikki Caldwell and their entire staff. They were all at Tennessee at one time just like our staff. We know them. We consider them our rival. It should be a good game. I know our players are very motivated."

The 30th meeting ever between the two programs will be televised nationally on the SEC Network with Cara Capuano and Carolyn Peck providing the call of the game. LSU leads the all-time series 15-14, including nine straight wins.

"LSU is a very talented team with a lot of great skilled athletes," Summitt said. "They can rebound and can really run in transition. They have a match-up zone that is very active. They will run different things on offense to get different players the ball. They are going to play hard and we have to go down there and match their intensity and their athleticism. I think athlete for athlete, we are right there with them and so we should be able to compete."

Both teams have gotten off to slow starts. LSU enters the contest 2-4 on the year with losses to UALR (70-54), Tulane (51-45), Rutgers (64-57) and Santa Clara (69-67). LSU hasn't played in a week after the final two games in the Hardwood Tournament of Hope in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico were cancelled due to facility conflicts.

Offensively, LSU is averaged just 57 points per game. Sophomore guard Raigyne Moncrief leads the team in scoring at 10.0 points per contest followed by DeShawn Harden (8.7 ppg) and Akilah Bethel (8.5 ppg). However, as a team, the Lady Tigers are holding opponents to just 57 points per game.

The Lady Techsters (2-2) have seen their ups and downs early in the season as well. Tech is coming off a hard-fought 70-68 win at Alabama A&M on Saturday in a game that Summitt praised his team for overcoming adversity.

"I think in three of our last four games we have overcome adversity being down 10 to Stephen F. Austin and coming back and winning, being down 18 to Louisiana-Lafayette and tying it which we should have won," Summitt said. "Then the last game at Alabama A&M overcoming adversity whether it was the officials or things not going our way and coming back to win. Proud of that mental toughness. I think we have that mental toughness standard and now we have to get the competing standard. If we compete for 40 minutes we don't create that adversity in the first place."

Tech enters Wednesday's game led by senior Whitney Frazier, who scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the win over Alabama A&M. Frazier averages 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game followed by JaQuan Jackson (10.8 ppg), Kelia Shelton (9.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg), Tiara Davenport (8.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and Chrisstasia Walter (8.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg).

"I feel like with our team we are just trying to progress in every area," Summitt said. "Rebounding ... one night we will be crashing the glass and boxing out and the next night we won't. Transition - one night we will be going all out in transition offense and taking away their transition offense and then one night we won't.

"It's a matter of consistency and progressing, to have that consistency on both ends. In every game we have had stretches where are defense has looked good whether it is the second half, the first half or most of the game. I think we have gotten better defensively, but it has to be a 40 minute game and that is what we have been preaching."

Fans can listen to the game on the LA Tech Sports Network on KNBB 97.7 FM (Ruston/West Monroe) and KTKC 92.9 FM (Springhill) with the pregame show starting at 5:30 p.m. Fans can also access the audio through a subscription to LA Tech All-Access at LATechSports.com.

Tech fans can follow in-game updates through social media avenues, including Twitter (@LATechWBB), Instagram (@LATechWBB) and Facebook (LATechWBB).