RUSTON – The first place Lady Techsters look to clinch a share of the regular season title against Kennesaw State Saturday night in the VyStar Arena.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 21 | 1:00 p.m. CT
Location: VyStar Arena | Kennesaw, Ga.
Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats
Video: ESPN+
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network (107.5 FM) | LA Tech Athletics App
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (20-5, 13-1 CUSA)
The Lady Techsters are coming off yet another nailbiter, narrowly defeating Jacksonville State 58-57 in the Pete Mathews Coliseum.
 
LA Tech quickly found itself in a hole as Jax State scored the first four points and led 7-2 early in the first. Joy Madison-Key's and-one layup would give the Lady Techsters their first lead 13-12, but Jacksonville State would end the frame on a 10-3 run to take a 21-16 lead to the benches. Louisiana Tech would tie the game three times in the second quarter, managing to take a 32-29 lead with seven seconds left as Jianna Morris nailed a triple to cap a 7-0 run.
 
In the first half, LA Tech only led for 0:29 of game time, making only one three pointer.
 
The Gamecocks struck first in the third, but the Lady Techsters would answer, stretching the lead to as much as seven. However, a three minute drought to close the quarter for LA Tech let Jax State close the gap to two heading into the final frame. Jacksonville State caught fire with Maria Sanchez Ponce scoring 11 in the quarter to let the Gamecocks tie the game with 26 seconds left. On Kaleigh Thompsons final attempt, she was fouled, being sent to the line with a chance to win the game with three seconds left. Thompson sank the first, but missed the second, leaving the door open for the Gamecocks. On Ponce's drive, she slipped, and a travel was called. Game.
 
This marks the second victory in a row for the Lady Techsters by a singular point, both coming at the free throw line with less than 10 seconds to play.
 
Louisiana Tech have won 13 games in a row and 20 games on the season. It is the longest win streak in 15 years and the second 20 win season under Brooke Stoehr. In league play, 13 conference wins are the most for Louisiana Tech as members of Conference USA.
 
Jianna Morris has made a three pointer in 31 straight games and led Louisiana Tech in scoring against Jax State with 15. Morris was the only Lady Techster to connect from deep in the game.
 
Thursday night marked the first time Louisiana Tech dished less than 10 assists all season, managing eight against the Gamecocks.
Louisiana Tech sits first place in Conference USA with a 13-1 record. A win against Kennesaw State would clinch a share of the regular season title, their first title since winning the west in the 2020-21 season.
 
ABOUT KENNESAW STATE (12-13, 5-9 CUSA)
The Owls were defeated by Sam Houston in Kennesaw Thursday night, 72-66, despite 23 points from Keyarah Berry.
 
Sam Houston went up 11-4 early, but the Owls managed to tie the game at 19 early in the second quarter. KSU briefly took the lead 26-25 with 3:30 left to go, but a two-minute drought to close the frame allowed the Bearkats to take a 32-28 lead.
 
Both teams fought for the lead in the second half with the Owls never managing more than a one point lead. Over the last 5:40 of the third quarter, the Bearkats managed a 17-6 run to take a 10 point lead. Sam Houston led as much as 11 in the fourth with 3:33 left to play, but KSU fought resiliently, narrowing the gap to 68-66 with 27 seconds to go. An untimely turnover would ultimately surrender the game as Sam Houston would hang on 72-66.
 
Keyarah Berry scored 23, her fifth game this season with at least 20 points. The Owls turned the ball over 22 times to Sam Houston's 14.
 
Five of Kennesaw States last six games have been decided by single digits, having a combined 39 ties and 36 lead changes. The Owls managed to win two of those games and currently sit in ninth place in Conference USA.
 
Berry is fifth in the league in scoring with 14.4 points per game. Berry is also second in field goal percentage, shooting at 48.0 percent from the field. Kailyn Fields is third in the league in assists with 4.4 per game while TaTianna Stovall is second in the league in blocks with 1.4 per game.
 
THE SERIES
Louisiana Tech leads the all-time series 2-1 with both programs taking a game last year and the Lady Techsters defeating the Owls 72-44 in Ruston in January. Paris Bradley led the team with 15 points while Jianna Morris shot 3-6 from downtown.
 
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