RUSTON – Louisiana Tech returns to the Thomas Assembly Center to take on Jacksonville State on Saturday, Jan. 20, at 2 p.m. for the Fight for Literacy game. The contest will be live on ESPN+ and KNBB 97.7 FM.
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time:Â Saturday, Jan. 20 | 2 p.m. CT
Location:Â Thomas Assembly Center (Ruston, La.)
TV:Â ESPN+
Talent:Â Lyn Rollins (PxP), Katie Hall (analyst)
Radio:Â KNBB 97.7 FMÂ | LA Tech Athletics app
Talent:Â Kyle Roberts
Stats:Â LATechSports.com/Stats
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (7-11, 1-2)
Louisiana Tech will look to rebound after a 66-59 defeat to Liberty on Jan. 13 at Liberty Arena.
Anja Bukvic is coming off her best two-game performance in her career. The sophomore guard had a career-high 11 points against Liberty and has been averaging 9.5 points and 3.5 rebounds the past two games while shooting 57 percent from the field.
Jianna Morris had the fourth double-figure scoring game of her freshman campaign by tying a career-high 13 points against Liberty. The guard ranks first among CUSA freshmen with 2.3 assists per game and second with 7.1 points.
Senior Guard Salma Bates is 12th in the conference with 11.7 points per game and has scored double figures in 14 games this season, with three games of nine points. She currently ranks third in CUSA with 32 steals and 38 made three-pointers.
Tech is the top distributing team in the league, with 13.6 per game. Silvia Nativi leads the way with 3.2 per game. She has seven games of four or more, including seven against Vanderbilt and Abilene Christian and a career-high eight against Louisiana College. Bates is second with 2.7, and Morris is at 2.3.
ABOUT JACKSONVILLE STATE (6-9, 1-2)
Rick Pietri is in his 11th season as the head coach of the Jax State. He has a 165-144 record with the Gamecocks.
Jacksonville State enters the game, having traded wins and losses over their last seven games. They started CUSA play with a 75-50 loss to FIU before beating Liberty 78-63 and recently fell to Western Kentucky 62-52.
Besides their win against Liberty, Jax State has wins against South Carolina State (55-41), Coastal Carolina (84-72), Life University (83-31), and Alabama-Huntsville (67-53) at home. Their lone road win on the season was a 74-53 victory against Alabama State.
Brooklyn McDaniel is the top returner from last season. McDaniel played in all 30 games last season with 3.9 points per game. She has started every game for the Gamecocks this season and averages 5.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game.
Bre'Anna Rhodes has had the most significant impact on Jacksonville State this season, seeing her average jump from 1.3 points per game last year to 9.2 this season. She also leads the team with 5.1 boards per game.
The Gamecocks are one of the top three-point shooting teams in the country. They come in averaging 25.4 attempts, 25th nationally, and 7.5 makes, 69th nationally, per game. Jax State also ranks 24th in the country with 27.8 points from their bench.
THE SERIES
This is the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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