GameDay Central | Game Notes

RUSTON - Louisiana Tech finally gets an opportunity to play a home game Sunday when the Lady Techsters host NAIA power Loyola-New Orleans at 3 p.m. at the Thomas Assembly Center.

Head coach Tyler Summitt and Co. opened the season with five straight road games, seeing plenty of ups and downs over the first month of the season. Summitt, whose team is coming off a 73-59 loss at LSU Wednesday night, said he hopes playing a game in Ruston will serve his team in a positive way.

"I have forgotten what the TAC looks like," Summitt said. "It will be great to be home. There are no excuses for how we are playing. It is tiring though. You get back, you unpack, then you pack again and you leave. You have seven hour bus rides. Your meals are all in hotels and then you are back home. It will be very nice to get back in front of our fans base. My mom is planning on coming to the game so we are looking forward to having her here.

"I'm very proud of our players for continuing to fight. Hopefully we can give our fans something to see. What we promised our fans is that we were going to play hard. We weren't going to promise wins or losses, but we were going to give effort. That's what we plan to give them."

Tech (2-3) has given the effort this season, although the execution has come and gone at times during the first five games of the season. The Lady Techsters have struggled to get off to good starts, trailing at halftime in all five games this year.

And although Tech has recovered to win two of those games, the slow starts is something that Summitt and his coaching staff are trying to remedy.

"We have talked about it," Summitt said. "We continue to preach effort and execution for 40 minutes. For the most part I feel like the effort has been there. It's the execution part that we have come up short on early in the season. The kids continue to work hard. They want to get better, and I think we have already seen improvements in areas, especially rebounding and on the defensive end."

Tech enters the game with a plus seven rebounding margin on the season, including outrebounding LSU 47-41 in the loss to the Tigers. The Lady Techsters rank second in Conference USA in offensive rebound percentage, pulling down 90 offensive boards in 210 opportunities (43 percent).

Defense will be key on Sunday. Loyola enters the game 9-0 on the season and averaging over 90 points per game. The Wolf Pack - which were ranked 11th in the country in the preseason NAIA polls - are shooting 42 percent from the three-point line as a team led by Janeicia Neely (15.8 ppg, 15-38 three-pointers), Megan Whittaker (11.1 ppg, 27-59 three-pointers), Briana Oglesby (11.1 ppg, 20-36 three-pointers) and Caroline Gonzalez (9.3 ppg, 15-29 three-pointers). Meghan Temple provides an inside presence for Loyola, averaging a double double with 10.7 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.

Loyola is also holding its opponents to 27 percent shooting and outrebounding them by 12 boards a contest.

LA Tech counters with three players averaging double figures led by Whitney Frazier (13.0 ppg, 7.4 rpg), JaQuan Jackson (13.0 ppg, 11-35 three-pointers) and Kelia Shelton (11.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg). Tiara Davenport (8.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and Chrisstasia Walter (6.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.5 apg) are also contributing to the box score on a nightly basis.

This will be the first meeting ever between the two programs on the hardwood.

Numerous promotions have been set for the game, including Lady Techster schedule magnet giveaway day for the first 500 fans. It's also Honor Roll day as any young fan (6th grade or younger) can bring their report card to the ticket booth and receive a FREE ticket while their parents can purchase discounted tickets ($8 in blue section, $12 in red section). Free Johnny's Pizza will also be available to the first 200 Tech students.

Fans can listen to the game on the LA Tech Sports Network on ESPN 97.7 FM and KTKC 92.9 FM (Springhill) with the pregame show starting at 2:30 p.m. Fans can also access audio and video of the game through a paid subscription to LA Tech All-Access on LATechSports.com.

Fans can also follow in-game updates through social media avenues, including Twitter (@LATechWBB), Instagram (@LATechWBB) and Facebook.com/LATechWBB.