GameDay Central | Game Notes

RUSTON - For five Louisiana Tech seniors, Sunday's home finale against Old Dominion will be their last on the Thomas Assembly Center floor.

Tipoff against the longtime rival Lady Monarchs is set for 2 p.m. Seniors Kanedria Andrews, Whitney Frazier, Savanna Langston, Kelia Shelton and Chrisstasia Walter will be recognized in a pregame on-court ceremony starting at 1:45 p.m.

"It is going to be a very special day, but we cannot lose sight of the fact that we have a game to play against an old time rival," said Tech head coach Tyler Summitt. "Old Dominion is a team and program that I grew up circling on our schedule when we were with the Lady Vols. It should be very special for our fans to see the former players and see us go against Old Dominion.

"I am very excited about these five seniors having a day of recognition. They have been through a lot and they deserve a day of recognition. Obviously, those five will start. I am very proud of what they have done. We are looking forward to that game, but obviously Old Dominion is going to come in here looking for a win."

In addition to Senior Day, Sunday's contest will see the return of many former Lady Techster players, coaches, managers and support staff as part of LA Tech Legends Day. As part of this reunion, the 1993-94 Louisiana Tech Lady Techster team will be recognized at halftime as 11 of the 12 players have RSVP'd for the event along with former Hall of Fame coaches Leon Barmore and Kim Mulkey. This team posted a 31-4 record and played in the 1994 national championship game against North Carolina in Richmond, Virginia.

"We are so excited that so many of our former Lady Techster family members will be back at the Thomas Assembly Center," Summitt said. "These are the people who built this program and put it on the national map, and we embrace their legacy. It will be great to have them back for this game."

On the floor, the Lady Techsters (14-11, 9-5 C-USA) and Old Dominion (14-10, 7-6) are fighting for seeding in the upcoming Conference USA Tournament set for March 11-14 in Birmingham, Alabama. Tech enters the game sitting alone in fourth place in the league standings and a win would give the Lady Techsters a game and a half lead over the next closest team - UTSA. The top four teams will get a bye in the first round of the league tournament.

Tech enters the game on a three-game winning streak after defeating Charlotte 71-61 Thursday night and a victory over ODU would give the Lady Techsters their first four-game regular season winning streak since the 2010-11 season. ODU has lost three of its last four games, including a 70-53 setback at Southern Miss on Thursday.

The Lady Monarchs boast one of the top offensive players in Conference USA in sophomore forward Jeannie Simms, averaging 18.6 points per game with a season high of 46 points in a win over FIU on Jan. 29.

"They are very athletic," Summitt said. "They have one player, Jeannie Simms and she is going to let it fly. She averages about 19 points a night, with their next closest averaging about nine. It is not even a question who is going to shoot the ball. We may have to throw some different things at her. That is what we are going to have to deal with on defense."

Louisiana Tech leads the all-time series against ODU 15-6, although the Lady Monarchs defeated the Lady Techsters last year in Norfolk.

The contest can be heard on the LA Tech Sports Network with the pregame show set for 1:30 p.m. The game will be televised live by FOX Sports Net including FOX Sports Arizona, FOX Sports Detroit (plus), FOX Sports Florida, FOX Sports Midwest (Plus), FOX Sports North, FOX Sports Oklahoma, FOX Sports South (Kentucky), FOX Sports Southwest, FOX Sports Wisconsin (Plus), Prime Ticket, SportSouth (Non Hawks 3), MASN 2, and ROOT Sports (Rocky Mountain Region).

Tickets are still available for the game and the doors to the Thomas Assembly Center will open at 12:30 p.m.