RUSTON ââ'¬" For the fourth time in four seasons as a member of Conference USA, Louisiana Tech will open league play against Southern Miss as the Lady Techsters host the Golden Eagles Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the Thomas Assembly Center.

LA Tech (5-6, 0-0 C-USA) hopes for a better outcome then in the first three league openers as Southern Miss (8-4, 0-0 C-USA) has won all of them, including last year's 68-57 victory in Hattiesburg.

Friday's contest can be heard on the LA Tech Sports Network with the pregame show starting at 6 p.m. Fans can access free audio of the game through the Louisiana Tech X mobile app and the Red Peach Media mobile app or by logging onto ESPN977.com. Fans can also watch live video online through a paid subscription to CUSATV.com.

The Lady Techsters enter the contest having dropped three straight games, including an 80-72 loss at UL-Lafayette in its last action on Dec. 22. LA Tech head coach Brooke Stoehr said her team is ready for the start of C-USA action and it knows they have a challenge in the opener against Southern Miss.

"We are excited to open conference play and are looking forward to the second portion of our season," said Stoehr. "It is an opportunity for this group to continue to grow and get better. There are a number of talented teams in our league that have had solid non-conference schedules and have performed well.

"Southern Miss is an athletic and experienced group. They want to play in the full court and force you to play fast and create turnovers. (Brittany) Dinkins has really scored it well for them, and they have been solid in the non-conference. We will need to defend well in transition and rebound the basketball. We are looking forward to starting conference play at home on Friday."

Southern Miss has also struggled over the past few weeks, losing three of its last four after opening the season by winning eight of the first nine. The Golden Eagles losses this season come to Tulane, Cal, Mississippi State and Northern Kentucky.

As a team, Southern Miss has won with defense, holding opponents to only 57.4 points per game while forcing 24 turnovers per game and outrebounding its opponents by almost six boards a contest.

Offensively, Dinkins leads Southern Miss, averaging 15.9 points per game while shooting 48 percent from the field, 84 percent from the free throw line and 21-of-55 (38 percent) from the three-point line. Forward Jayla King is the other double digit scorer on the roster, averaging 12.0 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds a game.

LA Tech has been competitive in all 11 games this year, with four of its losses coming by four points or in overtime and the other two setbacks coming by eight points at ULL and 10 points vs. Auburn.

The Lady Techsters boast four double digit scorers in Jasmine LeBlanc (11.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg), Rochelle Vasquez (11.5 ppg), Reauna Cleaver (11.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and Kierra Anthony (10.8 ppg, 19-42 three-pointers). As a team Tech ranks No. 1 in Conference USA in field goal percentage at 47 percent, but the Lady Techsters have struggled with turnovers.

Tech leads the all-time series against Southern Miss 6-4, including a 4-3 mark in games played in Ruston.