RUSTON — Jordan Marshall and Jianna Morris combined for 31 points to lead Louisiana Tech to a 53-51 victory over Nicholls in front of 2,660 elementary and middle school students inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Monday.
 
Morris led all scorers with 19 points on 4-8 shooting and 8-12 from the charity stripe. In her Lady Techster debut, Marshall finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.
 
Louisiana Tech (1-0) grabbed the lead just 20 seconds into the contest off a layup by Melissa Mwanza. Neither team would score over the next two minutes until Robyn Lee hit a jumper in the paint. Nicholls (0-1) would respond on their next possession for their first points of the season.
 
Marshal was everyone in the first quarter, accounting for six points and six rebounds to help the Lady Techsters to a 12-4 lead after one.
 
Both offenses caught fire in the second stanza and shot over 60 percent from the field. Nicholls took the lead around the six-minute mark, but a pair of free throws by Marshall put Tech back on top. Morris would add back-to-back triples as part of her 11-point performance to help extend the lead back to seven. The Lady Techsters would finish the quarter with eight turnovers, foreshadowing things to come.
 
Tech would struggle out of the break and allow Nicholls to take the lead just three minutes in with an 11-0 run. From there, neither team could take advantage of the other's turnovers as the Lady Techsters would outscore the Colonels 6-4 over the final six minutes.
 
With Tech down 42-40, Paris Bradley scored her first collegiate points to tie it up and knocked down a three to give the Lady Techsters a four-point lead. Morris would go 5-6 from the free-throw line to seal the game.
 
Tanita Swift scored 15 points to lead Nicholls, while Deonna Brister was the other Colonel in double figures at 12.
 
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Brooke Stoehr
 
"Obviously you're happy to find a way to win at the end of the day. We've had two scrimmages, and I thought we looked like it was our first real game today. Nicholls is well coached, and we knew it would be a solid opponent for the opener. We had a number of turnovers and missed opportunities today. Defensively we were not disruptive and didn't communicate or rotate the way we have shown. This will be a great film to teach from improve as we move forward with this group."
 
NOTABLES

• Louisiana Tech have won eight straight season openers.
• The Lady Techsters are 6-2 in education day games under coach Stoehr.
• Louisiana Tech improved to 20-1 all-time against Nicholls.

 
UP NEXT
Louisiana Tech will make a trip to Mobile, Alabama, to take on South Alabama in another education game on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. CT and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
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