RUSTON, La. – The Louisiana Tech women's basketball team wraps up its home non-conference slate Friday night against Sam Houston at 6:30 p.m. inside the Thomas Assembly Center. The Lady Techsters put its 15-game home non-conference winning streak, tied for fourth longest in school history, on the line against the Bearkats. 

Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. as we celebrate Christmas in the TAC and Champs birthday. The first 500 fans into the game will receive a complementary Tech blue Santa hat.

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Friday, Dec. 10 | 6:30 p.m.
Location: Thomas Assembly Center (Ruston, La.)
Series History: LA Tech leads 2-0
TV/Stream: CUSA.TV
Live Radio: LA Tech Sports Network (97.7 FM)
Live Stats: LATechSports.com
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (6-2)
The Lady Techsters escaped with a 69-58 win over Mississippi Valley State in a defensive battle last Sunday. Tech used a strong finish and another double-double by sophomore Anna Larr Roberson to pull away down the stretch. The Lady Techsters struggled much of the night with the Devilettes defensive pressure, turning the ball over a season-high 24 times in the win.

Roberson had another great outing, recording her 10^th career double-double with 18 points and a new career-high 15 rebounds. She became the first Lady Techster to grab double-digit rebounds in four straight games since Jasmine LeBlanc did so in six straight game in the 2016-17 season. Roberson also reach the 400 career rebounds milestone by grabbing two rebounds in the first minute of the game against the Devilettes.

Junior Keiunna Walker continues to lead the Lady Techsters on the offensive end of the floor. She is averaging 16.0 points per game while shooting just under 40 percent from the field. Walker is just one of six players in Conference USA to score in double-figures in every game their team has played in this season. The junior surpassed the 900 career points milestone in the win against Mississippi Valley State and is on the way to becoming the 43rd Lady Techster to score 1,000 career points. She is the soul of the Tech defense averaging 2.4 steals per contest, which ranks tied for fifth in C-USA.

Collectively, the Lady Techsters play a very disciplined but physical style of defense. Tech ranks in the top-50 in the NCAA in turnover margin (4.88) while limiting fouls to just 14.4 fouls per game.

The Lady Techsters have had success from the inside all year long, outscoring their opponents this season, 278-184, in the paint. A large part of that comes from the play of Roberson (13.1 ppg.), Jadona Davis (3.0 ppg.) and Kate Thompson (3.1 ppg.) down low. Tech also gets a major contribution from the guards as Tech has outscored its opponents, 102-62, in fast-break points.

ABOUT SAM HOUSTON (4-3)
Sam Houston enters Friday's matchup sporting a 4-3 record with wins over Wiley College, USAO, Hartford and Longwood. The Bearkats escaped with a win over Longwood as Madelyn Batista tipped in a layup as time expired to lift Sam Houston to a 66-65 win. All three of Sam Houston's losses this season have come on the road to UT Arlington, Tulsa and Arkansas.
 
The Bearkats lost last seasons Southland Player of the Year Amber Leggett, to the transfer portal, but returned four of its five starters from a season ago. Point guard Faith Cook headlines the Bearkats offense, ranking second in the WAC in scoring at 17.7 points per game.
 
The Bearkats have had an act for turning over its opponents so far this season. Sam Houston's opponents are averaging 23.9 turnover per game, the 11^th highest averaging in the country. Those turnovers have helped the Bearkats drastically as Sam Houston has outscored its opponents 166-136 in points off turnovers.
 
Sam Houston has four players averaging double-figures, led by Cook at 17.7 points per game. Other Bearkats scoring in double-figures are Courtney Cleveland (14.1 ppg.), Damaya Telemaque (11.6 ppg.), and Madelyn Batista (10.0 ppg.).
 
SERIES HISTORY
Louisiana Tech leads the all-time series against Sam Houston, 2-0, in a series that dates back to the 2006-07 season. The Lady Techsters and the Bearkats last meet on Dec. 13, 2008 with Tech claiming the victory 82-59 in Ruston. The Lady Techsters are 94-14 all-time against opponents from the Western Athletic Conference.
 
TICKETS
Season tickets are on sale and can be purchased HERE or by calling the LA Tech Ticket Office at (318) 257-3631. 

SOCIAL MEDIA
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