By JJ MARSHALL

jjm023@latech.edu

 

The Lady Techsters moved to 2-0 in WAC play after a visit from two Idaho universities.

Last Saturday, the Techsters (10-3, 2-0) completed the Western Athletic Conference sweep with a 75-68 victory over Idaho (5-8, 1-1).

Tech led 66-63, when Ty Moore grabbed an offensive rebound and laid in a fade-away jumper to give Tech a five-point advantage.

On the Techsters' next possession, Moore grabbed another offensive rebound off a Tamika Kursh missed free throw and threw it out to Aarica Ray-Boyd, who sank a three-pointer with 1:23 left to go which sealed Idaho’s fate.

“Ty has come such a long way during her career,” Long said. “She has improved in so many areas, but she still has another level she can get to.”

In the final 17 seconds of the game, Shan Moore drained all four of her free throws to cap off the Techsters' tenth victory. She also grabbed a season-high nine rebounds.

Ray-Boyd added 11 points, and Eboni Mangum’s ten rounded out the Techsters' double-digit scorers.

In last Thursday’s game, the Techsters outscored Boise State (8-5, 0-1) by 14 in the second half, which also proved to be the difference in the final score.

Tech and Boise entered halftime tied at 34, after some strong first half shooting from Boise.

“I give Boise State a lot of credit,” Techster head coach Chris Long said. “They are very tough to defend on the offensive end. Not only can their guards shoot the three-pointer extremely well, but they are athletic enough to put it on the floor and go by you.”

Long said the Techsters had to create steals and easy lay-up opportunities if they were going to win the game.

They did just that, and forced the Broncos into 19 second half turnovers, three more than the Techsters had in the whole game.

“I thought we won the game in the second half with our defense,” Long said, “We did a better job of getting out in the passing lanes and creating turnovers.”

Boise State hit 45 percent of their shots in the first half, but after Tech turned up the pressure, only managed 11 points through the first 16 minutes of the second half.

Shan Moore scored a season high 18 points, hitting 8 of 11 shots from the field.

“I was proud of Shan tonight,” Long said, “She looked like her old self. She was so big for us in this win and hopefully she will continue to feed off her performance. It’s just a confidence issue with her right now.”

Moore also pulled down five rebounds, dished out three assists and grabbed one steal in 27 minutes.

Fellow junior Ty Moore recorded her fifth double-double of the year, with 16 points and 10 rebounds which in turn garnered her the X-Box Live WAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honors.

Tasha Williams and freshman Eboni Mangum scored 14 and 12 points, respectively.