RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech women's basketball team dropped their 2022-23 Conference USA opener to UTEP, 62-54, Sunday afternoon inside the Thomas Assembly Center in a game that featured eight lead changes and six ties.
Despite LA Tech (7-4, 0-1 C-USA) shooting over 50 percent from the floor and from three and holding the Miners to 35 percent shooting, UTEP (8-2, 1-0 C-USA) used a combination of offensive rebounds and forced turnovers to generate 25 more shots than the Techsters (64-39).
In the first quarter, the game was dominated by quick whistles and turnovers that led to a very choppy start for both teams, but three UTEP threes gave the Miners a 13-10 edge after one.
UTEP continued to hit from deep, building a 22-14 lead with 6:46 left in the half but
Gabbie Green hit two threes of her own as part of a LA Tech 8-0 run to tie the game at 22.
Jazion Jackson responded with back-to-back threes to retake the lead for the Miners at the half, 28-24. Jackson hit 5-8 from deep.
To start the second half, the Lady Techsters came out of the halftime locker room on fire using a 12-2 run capped off by an
Anna Larr Roberson three and
Amaya Brannon layup to take their largest lead of the game, 36-30, with 6:32 left in the third.
UTEP responded once again with an 14-3 run of their own over the next four minutes to retake a 44-39 lead at the end of the third.
Halfway through the final stanza,
Lotte Sant's three tied the game at 48-48, but UTEP used 7-2 to regain a 55-50 lead with 1:28 left and hit five free throws down the stretch to match their largest lead of the game en route to the 62-54 final.
Keiunna Walker led the Techsters with 12 points, while
Anna Larr Roberson and
Gabbie Green added nine each. Tech was led on the glass by
Amaya Brannon, who had seven rebounds.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Brooke Stoehr…
"It's a disappointing result today, especially when you shoot as well as we did in the game, but due to the turnovers and giving up that many offensive rebounds, you we gave them too many many extra chances.
You have to give their bigs credit, we wanted to control the paint, but they really did a job against us on the glass. It's disappointing to give one up at home, which means we've now got to fight and steal one back on the road.
We did have glimpses. We had a great start to the third quarter, picked up nine stops in 11 trips on defense and moved the ball well, but you have to play with poise for 40 minutes, especially when you hit conference play."
NOTABLES
• LA Tech now leads the all-time series 16-9 and is 7-4 in games played in Ruston.
• Tech moves to 3-7 all-time in C-USA openers and is 2-4 in openers at home.
•
Keiunna Walker reached double figures for the ninth time this season with a team-high 12 points.
• The Techsters took four charges in the game; they now have 22 on the year.
•
Silvia Nativi has had three or more assists in nine of 11 games this season.
•
Salma Bates had four assists and now has three or more in seven games this season.
• Tech's bench has scored 20 or more points in nine of 11 games.
• LA Tech hit a season-high six threes in the game.
UP NEXT
Louisiana Tech will pick back up with Conference USA play after an 11-day Christmas break with a trip to San Antonio, Texas, to face UTSA on Thursday, Dec. 29, at 7 p.m. CT inside the Convocation Center. The game can be seen on CUSA.tv. and can be heard on the LA Tech Athletics App.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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