LAKE CHARLES, La. – The Lady Techsters wrapped up non-conference play by hitting a new school record 40 free throws to take down McNeese State, 74-57, inside the Burton Coliseum on Wednesday night.

The Lady Techsters improved to 8-3 on the year with the win, while McNeese State falls to 4-8 overall.

The Lady Techsters jumping out to a quick 12-2 lead just four minutes into the game, behind six points from freshman Kate Thompson and four points from freshman Amaya Brannon. McNeese State answered with an 8-2 run to cut the deficit down to four at 14-10 with 4:54 remaining in the opening period.

Sophomore Lotte Sant drained a three from the corner to spark a 9-1 run, giving Tech a 23-11 advantage with 2:24 to play in the first. After five straight points by the Cowgirls, freshman Mackenize Wurm hit a pair of free throws  to give the Lady Techsters a 25-16 lead after the first quarter.

 The Lady Techsters pushed their lead out to as much as 16 points, taking a 43-29 lead into the locker room.

The Lady Techsters started the second half right where the left off as Thompson connected on a mid-range jumper to give Tech a 45-29 lead just 51 seconds into the third quarter. LA Techs lead grew to 52-34 on a jumper by Wurm and another three from Sant, before McNeese was able to cut the lead down to 54-40 with 3:30 left in the third quarter. Another jumper from Wurm and four made free throws by Brannon gave Tech its largest lead of the game at 60-40 entering the fourth quarter.

With Tech leading 63-45 with 6:34 remaining in the game, McNeese State picked up their defensive pressure. The Cowgirls cut the deficit down to 12 at 67-55 with 1:46 left, but Tech was able to regrouped and finished the game with five more free throws to claim the victory 74-57.

NOTABLES

• The Lady Techsters improve24-7 all-time against the Cowgirls and 7-4 in games played at McNeese State
• Tech broke a 37-year record by making 40 free throws against the Cowgirls. The previous mark was 34 made free throws against Auburn back in February of 1984.
• Tech's 40 made free throws are the most by any team in the NCAA this season. 
• The 40 made free throws were tied for third most in Conference USA history, behind only UTEP's 42 (12/17/17) and Memphis' 41 (1/7/96) made free throws.
• Amaya Brannon scored a season-high 16 points to lead the Lady Techsters.
• Mackenzie Wurm secured her first career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds while adding three blocks. Wurm entered todays game with six points and five rebounds.
• Kate Thompson made her first start as a Lady Techster, collecting a new career-high 14 points and eight rebounds.
• Keiunna Walker contributed 12 points and has now scored in double-figures in 12 straight games.
• Silvia Nativi made her first career start as a Lady Techster, pulling in a new season-high six rebounds.
• The Lady Techsters shot just 28.1 percent from the field, its lowest mark of the season. It was the first win when shooting under 30 percent from the field since defeating Marshall with a 28.9 percent shoot performance on January 1, 2021.
• The Lady Techsters collected a season-high 58 rebounds, the most since grabbing 66 at UTSA on March 5, 2020. 
• It was the fourth time this season the Lady Techsters had recorded six blocked shots. It was also the fifth time of recording six or more this season. 

 
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Brooke Stoehr
"I thought our group was locked in today and had a great start to the game. They had terrific energy on the court and from the bench. We were able to get stops that lead to scores. Kate was aggressive on both ends of the floor and really stepped up big for us today. Mackenzie and JD came off the bench and gave us great minutes at the five. All three of them stepped up big with Anna Larr being out today. We held their leading scorer scoreless and that was big tonight. Keiunna set the tone and we were able to rotate people on her when we had some early foul trouble. Really proud of the way the team attacked and got to the free throw line. Knocking down 40-of-46 from the line on the road is big. We had a sizable advantage on the glass with our leading rebounder out of the lineup. Just proud of the collective effort on the road to close out non-conference play to a win. We have lots to work on with this group but have learned a great deal about who we are and how they will compete for one another. We're excited to be able to give them a few days off to spend with their families and get back to work preparing for C-USA play.

UP NEXT
The Lady Techsters return to action on December 30, when they travel to Marshall to open up Conference USA play. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. central time.
 
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