RUSTON, La. – The Louisiana Tech women's basketball team returns home for a Conference USA matchup with North Texas Wednesday, Jan. 11, at 6 p.m inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Wednesday, Jan. 11 | 6 p.m. CT
Location: Thomas Assembly Center (Ruston, La.)
TV/Stream: CUSA.tv
Radio: KNBB 97.7 FM | LA Tech Athletics app
Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats | LA Tech Athletics app
Tickets: Purchase
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (9-6, 2-3 C-USA)
Louisiana Tech has alternated wins and losses in their last eight contests after dropping the season series to UTEP in El Paso last week, 72-66. 
 
Keiunna Walker, Salma Bates, and Amaya Brannon each reached double figures in both games last week. Walker posted a season-high 26 against Rice followed by 24 at UTEP and now sits at No. 16 on the all-time scoring list with 1,646 points. 
 
Brannon has hit double-figure scoring in four straight, while Bates has scored in double-figures in three of her last four.
 
Mackenzie Wurm continues to fill in nicely in absence of Anna Larr Roberson, especially on the defensive end. Wurm has 20 blocks this season, with 10 coming in her last four outings. 
 
Tech's one-two punch at point guard of Salma Bates and Silvia Nativi have the Techsters atop the C-USA rankings in assists (228) and assists per game (15.2). Nativi has registered 62 assists and ranks No. 4 in the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio, at 3.1. Bates has contributed 54, which ranks her fourth in the league. 
 
Tech ranks second in Conference USA in several categories including, scoring defense (59.3), defensive field-goal percentage (.365), offensive field-goal percentage (.454), three-point percentage (.351), and free throw percentage (.768). 
 
Tech is scoring 66.7 points per contest and is 7-2 this season when reaching the 60-point mark. LA Tech is 8-0 this season when holding opponents to under 60 and 6-0 when out rebounding the opposition this season. 
 
Tech is looking to win No. 599 all-time in Ruston.
 
ABOUT NORTH TEXAS (4-10, 1-3 C-USA)
North Texas comes into Ruston having picked up three of their four wins in the non-conference slate but has recorded just a 1-7 record on the road this season. After dropping their first two C-USA contests, North Texas beat WKU in Denton (84-76) before falling to Middle Tennessee in their last outing. UNT was selected fifth in the C-USA Preseason Poll. 
 
They are led by head coach Jalie Mitchell, who is in her eighth season leading the Mean Green and is coming off a 17-13 (10-7 C-USA) season 2021-22 that finished with a bid to the 2022 WNIT where they Tulsa (62-75). The Mean Green made it to the C-USA Tournament semifinals after beating Old Dominion (65-58) and fell to the eventual champs Charlotte (63-66).
 
On the floor, UNT is led by last season's C-USA Preseason Player of the Year, Quincy Noble. Noble, a 5-10 senior guard from McKinney, Texas, is leading C-USA in scoring at 18.2 ppg on .458 shooting, including .364 from three and .846 from the free throw line. 
 
North Texas is averaging 60.3 ppg on .409 shooting while giving up 68.6 per contest to opponents on .415 shooting. The Mean Green are top-four in the conference in blocks per game at 3.21.
 
THE SERIES
Wednesday's matchup will be the 20th overall meeting between the Techsters and the Mean Green. Tech leads the overall series 15-4 and holds a 7-2 advantage in Ruston.
 
Tech began the series by winning the first 12 meetings between 1989-90 and 2017-18. North Texas took three of the next four before Tech swept the two-game set last season. 
 
Tech and UNT have had one game reach an overtime period, in Denton, that the Mean Green won, 74-69. 
 
The series has proved rather competitive recently, with nine of the last 10 games being decided by fewer than 10 points, including both games in Ruston during the 2020-21 season. Those two games mark the closest in series history, at five-point margins, and were split by Tech (69-55) and UNT (63-58).
 
TICKETS
Season and single-game tickets are on sale and can be purchased at LATechSports.com/Tickets or by calling the LA Tech Ticket Office at (318) 257-3631.
 
GAMEDAY GUIDE/CLEAR BAG POLICY
Fans are encouraged to read the Gameday A-Z Guide and review the Clear Bag Policy for questions regarding the game day experience. Clear bags are required at all Louisiana Tech athletic events. 
 
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