Louisiana Tech University
Liberty
Preview: LA Tech vs Liberty
2/9/2024 2:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball
RUSTON – Louisiana Tech returns to the Thomas Assembly Center for the Play4Kay and National Girls and Women in Sports game against Liberty. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT and is live on ESPN+.
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 10 | 2 p.m. CT
Location: Thomas Assembly Center (Ruston, La.)
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Jeff Palermo (PxP), Katie Hall (analyst)
Radio: KNBB 97.7 FM | LA Tech Athletics app
Talent: Kyle Roberts
Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (8-15, 2-6)
Louisiana Tech fell to Western Kentucky 64-56 on Wednesday Night. The Lady Techsters held a 36-22 halftime advantage before the Lady Toppers did what they had done all season, coming from behind to win.
Salma Bates found her rhythm again to the tune of four triples and led the Lady Techsters with 14 points. She ranks fourth in the league with 45 three-pointers and an average of 1.96 per game.
Senior forward Anna Larr Roberson had another strong outing. Roberson tacked on nine points and seven rebounds to go along with three steals. She is currently 22nd on the all-time scoring list with 1,533 points and is 11 rebounds shy of 900, making her the 13th player in program history with 1,500 points and 900 rebounds.
Anja Bukvic has been having a career start to 2024. The sophomore has seen her average rise from 2.2 to 5.6 points over the last seven games. She added nine points, five rebounds, and four assists against WKU. Against Liberty on Jan. 13, Bukvic scored a then career-high 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
Tech has been one of the top distributing teams in the league. The Lady Techsters average 13.5 assists per game while only turning the ball over 16.0 times. They have a 0.84 assists-to-turnover ratio, which is third in CUSA.
ABOUT LIBERTY (10-14, 5-4)
Liberty dropped their first two games of conference play but has rebounded, winning five of their last seven. They are tied for second in CUSA with Western Kentucky.
The Lady Flames had their four-game winning streak snapped against Middle Tennessee. Reigning CUSA Player of the Week, Bella Smuda had 18 points and seven rebounds to lead Liberty.
Liberty led 22-17 early in the second quarter before Middle Tennessee closed the half on a 19-7 run. The Lady Flames would be held to nine points in the third quarter, giving the Lady Raiders the separation to cruise to the win.
Smuda continues to be one of the top rim protectors in the country. She is second in the conference and No. 13 in the country with 57 blocks on the season, and her 2.5 blocks per game rank 18th in the nation. Her 14.6 points and 941 rebounds per game have produced 11 double-doubles this season, leading the league and 21st in the country.
Emma Hess is a threat from behind the arc. She leads the league with a 36 percent shooting clip from deep and is second in the conference with 50 made three-pointers. Hess scored 14 points in the second half of Liberty's come-from-behind win against LA Tech the last time the two teams met.
Freshman Asia Boone is a seven-time CUSA Freshman of the Week with seven double-figure scoring games on the year. She is the top freshman with 9.7 points per game while also being near the top with 3.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.
THE SERIES
Liberty took the only matchup between the two programs, 66-59, on Jan. 13, 2024.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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