Final Stats

RUSTON - Kelia Shelton and Kevione Moten recorded double doubles to lead Louisiana Tech to a 90-72 win over UTEP Thursday night before 1,808 fans at the Thomas Assembly Center.

Shelton scored 28 points - 25 in the first half - and grabbed 10 rebounds while Moten added 11 points and 10 rebounds while Whitney Frazier added 19 points, four rebounds and four assists as LA Tech (6-7, 1-1 C-USA) rebounded from a heartbreaking overtime loss to Southern Miss on Sunday.

"We probably had 34 good minutes tonight," said Tech head coach Tyler Summitt. "It is hard to get up on a team and sustain the momentum but we have to do that because that is important in the games where every possession matters. I do not know if that is going to be Middle Tennessee or Western Kentucky but if we are going to be a championship program, we have to have a 40 minute game no matter what. I give a lot of credit to UTEP for fighting back. I really thought they fought back and threw different things at us in the second half. It is very unfortunate their head coach could not be here. Our prayers are with her and her surgery. I am proud of our team for the 34 minute effort."

UTEP (7-5, 2-1 C-USA) never had an answer for Shelton over the opening 20 minutes of action as the Rock Hill, South Carolina native hit 7-of-11 field goals, 3-of-5 three-pointers and all eight free throws in the first half, leading the Lady Techsters to a 50-28 halftime advantage.

"I am very proud of Kelia," Summitt said. "I am proud of a lot of our players. This game really showed that we are starting to understand our role. Kelia and [Whitney] Frazier were our two leading scorers and that is what we need every single night. Chrisstasia (Walter) led us in assists and that is what we need every night. The stat sheet does not show that [Kanedria Andrews] is our defensive stopper. I thought she played that role well.

"Ruby [Richie] did well with her spot up shooting. [Tiara Davenport] shot a good percentage, same for Brandi [Wingate] and obviously Kevione [Moten] with her first ever double-double. Kevione and Brandi grabbed 10 and 7 rebounds and that is great. That is what we need every night, people understanding their role from top to bottom. I am very pleased for the most part with that aspect of our game. Again though, there are those mental lapses. You see them in other games, but this game they did not hurt us. In other games it could hurt us."

The 50 points were the most scored in a half this season by LA Tech and the 90 points were the most scored since a 94-80 win over San Jose State on Jan. 24, 2013.

Trailing 6-4 early in the contest, Tech used a 18-4 run during an eight-minute stretch to take a 22-10 advantage with Shelton and Moten accounting for every point in the run, including 14 by Shelton. After UTEP responded with a run to cut the deficit to 26-20 on back-to-back three-pointers with 7:36 to play in the half, the Lady Techster closed the half on a 24-8 run entering the locker room with a 22-point lead.

Tech capitalized at the free throw line, hitting 18-of-22 foul shots in the first half compared to only 2-of-2 by the Miners.

UTEP hit the first bucket of the second half to close the gap to 20 before Tech eventually pushed the lead to 83-50 on a conventional three-point play by Shelton with 6:44 remaining in the game. Although the game was out of reach, UTEP continued to fight and the Lady Techsters relaxed as the Miners ended the game by hitting on their final nine shots from the field.

"You could tell right when we came out after halftime, they stopped running their offense and just started to drive it right at us," Summitt said. "That gave us problems. We went to our 2-3 defense and it really stopped their penetration, but we have to know where shooters are. Honestly, the last six minutes, we can talk x's and o's all day, but it was a lack of focus. It was a lack of focus, they had wide open layups and wide open three's because we were not talking and we did not have that same intensity as if it was a tie ball game. That is an area for us to get better at and a culture for us to understand that every single possession matters."

For the game, Tech shot 45 percent (31-69) from the field, 7-of-12 from the three-point line and 21-of-31 from the free throw line. UTEP shot 45 percent (29-65) from the field, 6-of-15 from the three-point line and 8-of-13 from the free throw line.

Tech outrebounded UTEP 49-37, including 19 offensive rebounds that led to a 19-5 advantage in second chance points. Tech also cut down on its turnovers, committing only 12 in the game (4 in the first half).

Sparkle Taylor led UTEP with 15 points while Cameasha Turner added 14 points and eight rebounds.

Tech returns to action Saturday when it hosts UTSA at 6 p.m. at the Thomas Assembly Center.