Head Coach Brooke Stoehr deep dives into the first week of practice, gives a roster and staff breakdown, and her outlook on the 2022-23 schedule and season. 

 

RUSTON, La. – The Louisiana Tech women's basketball team wrapped up their first week of official practice this Friday for the 2022-23 season. 
 
The Lady Techsters return 10 letter-winners from last season's West Division Championship team. 

Senior guard Keiunna Walker is back for her final season, coming off a milestone all-Conference 2021-22 campaign. The Lonoke, Ark. native was named First-Team All-Conference USA and to the Conference USA All-Tournament team while breaking career marks of 1,000 points, 100 steals, 100 assists, 100 charges taken, and 100 games played. 
 
Walker became the 43rd member of the Lady Techster 1,000-point club and finished her season at No. 27 on the all-time scoring list with 1,403 points. She averaged 18.9 ppg and was one of the most successful players in the country at getting to the free-throw line last season, ranked No. 1 in C-USA and top-five nationally in free-throw attempts and makes.
 
Anna Larr Roberson also returns to lead the frontcourt after being named to the Conference USA All-Tournament team last season and picked up Second-Team conference honors. Roberson averaged 15.1 ppg and 8.5 rpg and registered nine double-doubles last season. 
 
The Walker and Roberson duo also put on one of the best shows in the country last season during a double-overtime 90-80 win over Rice inside the TAC. Walker registered just the fourth triple-double in program history with 27 points, 15 rebounds, and ten assists, while Roberson recorded the fifth-highest single-game scoring effort with 44 points on 20-28 shooting. The teammates were the first in the history of women's basketball, at any level, to record a 25-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist triple-double while scoring 40 or more points in the same game. Roberson's 20 made field goals tied a program record. 
 
Juniors Salma Bates and Lotte Sant also return with sophomores Robyn Lee, Silvia Nativi, Amaya Brannon, Kate Thompson, Mackenzie Wurm, and Autumn Smith.
 
Salma "Buzzer Beater" Bates hit five shots at the buzzer last season, including a game-winner over Boise State at the Rocky Mountain Hoops Classic. After two seasons at Tulane, Bates handled the point guard duties in her first season with the Techsters. Bates started all 33 games averaging 7.9 points, and led the team with 101 assists. 
 
Sant, entering her fourth season in Ruston by way of Amsterdam, brings a wealth of experience to the Tech backcourt ranking No. 2 on the team in games played with 87. The 6-1 guard registered a season-high 12 points hitting four three-pointers against UAB. 
 
Brannon became just the 13th true freshman to start in a season-opener for the Techsters since 2000-01. The Plano, Texas native appeared in all 33 games last season, starting 21, and was named Conference USA Freshman of the Week after her first two career starts, and finished the season averaging 7.0 ppg and 4.4 rebounds while shooting .450 percent from the field and .385 percent from three.
 
Nativi started 23 games while appearing in all 33 contests during the 2021-22 season, registering 69 assists and 40 steals. She recorded five steals twice and registered a season-high 11 rebounds and seven assists in Conference USA play.
 
Lee proved vital down for the Techstsers bringing a nose for instant offense and big shots, including hitting the game-winner at Old Dominion last season, which helped propel the Techsters to the No. 2 overall seed in the C-USA tournament. The Moss Point, Miss. guard averaged 8.0 points on .430 shooting and appeared in all 33 games while making ten starts. 
 
Thompson, a transfer from Wisconsin, started 13 games during her first season in Ruston and provided depth to the Techsters' frontcourt. Thompson registered season-highs of 14 points and eight rebounds against McNeese State and shot .437 percent from the floor and .848 from the free-throw line.
 
Wurm and Smith made 13 and 15 appearances, respectively. Wurm, the Allen, Texas forward, was named the Conference USA Freshman of the Week after a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double against LSU-A. Smith, the Martin High School product out of Arlington, Texas, was used primarily as a defensive specialist during her freshman campaign registering eight steals in her first nine games. 
 
LA Tech adds two power five transfers in guard Gabbie Green and forward Aaliyah Morgan. Green came to Ruston from Pittsburgh last season but missed the year due to injury. Green was named an NJCAA First-Team All-American after leading South Plains to a national No. 1 ranking before playing two seasons at Pitt, where she started 47 of 48 games and broke the junior season record for three-pointers made. Morgan, out of Tyler Legacy High School, transferred from TCU last spring after redshirting her freshman year for the Horned Frogs.
 
Tech added three incoming freshmen signees last February in guards Jaiden Thomas and Anja Bukvic and forward Ayen Angoi. 
 
Thomas, a Conway, Ark. native, averaged 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals over her four-year career for Conway High School. She garnered several awards and honors, including All-State, and was a McDonald's All-American Game Nominee. 
 
Bukvic comes to Ruston from Belgrade, Serbia, and most recently represented her home country at the 2022 Euro U20 Championships in Sopron, Hungary. Serbia reached the quarterfinals of the tournament after Bukvic clinched a double-overtime win with 12 points and six assists. Bukvic spent two years starting on the top two teams, Partizan and Art Basket, in Serbia's highest-rated league. She also helped her Partizan U16 team to a Serbian League gold medal in 2017-18.
 
Angoi is a TAPPS 6A Texas state champion out of Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas, Texas. She averaged 10 points and 7.3 rebounds her senior season while picking up All-District, All-Region, and All-State honors. 
 
Head coach Brooke Stoehr, in her seventh season with the Lady Techsters, will try to guide Tech back to a tournament title game with the hopes of bringing a tournament title and NCAA berth back to Ruston. Stoehr surpassed the 100-win mark at the helm of the Techsters and now sits No. 3 all-time in program wins behind Leon Barmore and Sonja Hogg. Stoehr registered her 100th win in the game that clinched the C-USA championship against UAB, passing Teresa Weatherspoon on the all-time list. LA Tech finished the 2021-22 season with a 21-12 overall and 11-7 record in Conference USA play.
 
Tech also made two additions to the coaching staff last spring with Associate Head Coach Nitra Perry and Assistant Coach Pierre Miller. Perry, a former head coach at Kennesaw State, comes to Ruston after a two-year stint at West Virginia that saw the Mountaineers earn a trip to the NCAA Round of 32 and brings 17 years of collegiate coaching experience. Perry also earned three MAC Division titles and four WNIT berths while serving as the associate head coach at Toledo. 
 
Miller joins the LA Tech staff after six seasons at Campbell, where he most recently served as the associate head coach. The Camels ranked inside the top-10 defensively for five of those seasons, including ranking as the No. 1 scoring defense in the country in 2017, and helped lead the program to their first Big South regular-season title since 2001.
 
The Lady Techsters open regular season play on Nov. 7 as LA Tech takes on Central Baptist College inside the TAC at 5:30 p.m. The season-opener will be as a double-headed with the men's Bulldog Basketball team, who will tip against Mississippi College at 7:30. 
 
The Techsters 2022-23 slate will feature 15 home games, including SEC East member Vanderbilt coming to Ruston before hosting a 10-game home conference slate. LA Tech will also travel to Las Vegas for the UNLV Thanksgiving Tournament, which will feature an eight-team bracket-style tournament featuring three five programs that played in the 2022 postseason. 
 
Season tickets are now on sale for the Lady Techsters' 2022-23 season. To purchase your season tickets, visit LATechSports.com/Tickets or call the Ticket Office at (318) 257-3630.