RUSTON | The Louisiana Tech women's basketball team plays their final two regular season home games beginning with WKU on Thursday, Feb. 23, at 6 p.m. inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court. The game can be seen on CUSA.tv. In addition, the live radio broadcast and live stats can be found on the LA Tech Athletics app.
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Thursday, Feb. 23 | 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
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (16-10, 9-7 C-USA)
Louisiana Tech comes into Thursday riding their longest winning streak of the season at four games after sweeping North Texas and Charlotte on the road last week. Tech beat UNT 57-44 and took out Charlotte 83-79 in a double-overtime thriller.
Keiunna Walker earned her second C-USA Player of the Week award, posting her second career double-double with 27 points and 14 rebounds with five assists and four drawn charges at Charlotte. Walker sits at No. 9 in all-time scoring with 1,860 points. She has reached double figures in 24 of 26 games, including 20 straight. Her 17.6 PPG is No. 2 in C-USA.
Lotte Sant continues to shoot the ball well in conference, hitting 52.1 percent from three (38-73) in league play this season. She is two threes away from moving into No. 6 on the all-time three-point makes list ahead of Debra Williams.
LA Tech's bench has reached double figures 24 times this season, used nine players in a starting role, and used five different starting fives.
Tech is 11-0 this season when holding teams to less than 60 points and 10-0 when out-rebounding the opposition. Tech is also 9-1 when scoring more than 70.
LA Tech is currently No. 2 in C-USA in FG% (.445),) FT% (.773), defensive FG% (.388), and scoring defense (60.6 PPG). Tech leads C-USA in 3FG% (.338) and ranks third in assists (346) and APG (13.3).
ABOUT WKU (14-11, 11-5 C-USA)
Western Kentucky struggled to replace last season's all-conference player, Meral Abdelgawad, early in the season, dropping five of their first six non-conference but have since risen among the top of the league standings (No. 2) after a stretch of winning nine of ten. However, the Hilltoppers come into Ruston, dropping two of their last three.
WKU holds a 6-7 record on the road this season, including a 5-3 mark in the conference.
WKU is led on the court by the double-digit scoring duo of Jaylin Foster and Acadia Hayes, one of the league's most productive freshmen this season. Foster is averaging 10.2 PPG to go with 6.0 RPG, while Hayes puts up 10.1 PPG on .463 shooting, including a .339 clip from three.
WKU is averaging 69.4 PPG on .384 shooting (.298 from three) while giving up 69.2 PPG on .461 shooting (.324 from three). They lead the league in steals per game (11.8) and are No. 2 in offensive rebounds per contest at 13.9.
THE SERIES
Thursday's matchup with be the 53rd overall matchup between LA Tech and WKU. LA Tech leads the all-time series 27-25, but WKU has taken nine of the last ten meetings, including the previous two. However, Tech holds a 16-8 edge in Ruston, with the last win coming at home during 2020-21.
This is the longest-standing series among current C-USA mates and one of the more storied series in program history, dating back to the 1983-84 season. Tech and WKU were once conference mates in the Sun Belt from 1991-2001, where the two teams faced off 29 times, including eight conference tournament title games, with tech winning five of eight meetings.
LA Tech's longest streak is 11 wins from 1997-2002, while WKU enjoyed ten straight over ten years from 2011-2021.
The Techsters and Hilltoppers split the season series in 2021-22. Tech won in Ruston in 2020-21, and WKU took the 2022 New Year's Day matchup last season.
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.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For all the latest in Lady Techsters Basketball, follow them on Twitter (@LATechWBB), Instagram (@LATechWBB), and Facebook (LATechWBB).
