By BRIAN TYNES

Sports Writer

Sophomore forward Tamika Kursh garnered Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career after averaging 14 points and 13.5 rebounds in wins over San Jose State University and Hawaii last week.

Kursh became the second Techster this season to win the honor as she helped Tech improve to a 6-0 WAC record and 10-4 overall.

Against San Jose last Thursday, Kursh posted career highs in scoring and rebounds with 17 points and 15 boards while leading Tech to a 66-52 win, after the Techsters trailed 24-22 at halftime.

Kursh's 15 rebounds tied her for the most in WAC play this year throughout the conference schedule, but Kursh was not the only shining sophomore for the Techsters.

Ty Moore registered a career-high 14 rebounds and tied her career-high with 10 points against the Spartans.

Shan Moore also contributed 14 points, three steals and three assists.

After the two guards combined for 55 points days earlier, Tech's point guard Tasha Crain was held to one field goal, and Lakiste Barkus was held scoreless.

However, Tech's head coach Kurt Budke said the most important thing was coming away with the win.

"We'll take any win we can get," Budke said. "When Crain and Barkus come off of 28 and 27 point performances, they have one field goal between them in this game and we win, we have to feel fortunate.

"I think three weeks ago we would've lost that game, but the young players have grown enough to where they can accept the responsibility if Crain and Barkus aren't getting it done. That says something good about the future of this team."

The primary young player Budke referred to was Ty Moore, who averaged eight points and 9.5 rebounds per game the past two weeks.

"Ty has been maybe our best post player the last two or three weeks," Budke said. "She's done a great job defensively and rebounding-wise. She's really coming into her own."

The Techsters continued a season-long trend of starting slow at home, as San Jose opened the game with a 12-2 lead.

Tech battled from behind and took its first lead of the game on an Aarica Ray-Boyd three-pointer with 1:47 remaining before halftime, and in the second half, the Techsters turned up the heat and burned the Spartans 44-28 in the final stanza.

With 16:27 to play, the Techsters began pulling away with a 13-2 run led by the young threesome, which posted 10 of the 13 points.

San Jose cut the lead to six with 1:18 left, but Tech hit eight of ten free throws to ice the win.

Despite the frustrations, Budke was proud of the win.

"I'll take 12 more ugly wins just like it," Budke said. "As long as we can keep figuring out a way to win, we will keep surviving."

The Techsters out-rebounded the Spartans 32-12 in the final 20 minutes, and Saturday night's game against Hawaii proved to be more of the same.

Trailing at halftime by two points, Tech went on a 20-minute 43-12 run, starting with 2:34 remaining in the first half, to catapult to a 68-54 win.

Tech was out rebounded 28-23 in the first half but won the battle 50-42, led by Kursh's team-high 12 rebounds.

Crain proved the San Jose game was a fluke, as she led the team with 12 points and added six assists and six rebounds.

Shan Moore added 11 points, and Margaret DeCiman and Ray-Boyd finished with nine points each.

Budke said part of the reason for the first half struggle against Hawaii was their offensive scheming.

"They are a very well coached, much disciplined and smart team," Budke said. "They're going to be very hard to play when we go out to the island. They ran a five-out motion most of the night, and many teams don't do that. You can watch it on film, but until you actually guard it live, it's a different thing.

"That was the first time our team had faced that kind of offense this year. So that had something to do with us waiting till the half to adjust. The girls had to get a feel of it before they knew what the spots were to get a steal or double team."

The win over Hawaii marked the 22nd consecutive WAC win for the Techsters and 98th straight win at home against conference opponents.

Those who follow the Techsters saw a familiar face on the bench for the past few games, as Erica Taylor cheered on the Techsters from courtside. Taylor is still preparing for a comeback and has yet to dress, but Budke said he hopes she will return to action at the first of next month.

"It's just a guess, but we would like to have her for the Boise/UTEP trip in two weeks," Budke said. "It's entirely up to her doctor, but people have to understand she's not going to be the person she was last March, averaging 28 points a game. If I can get her for 15-20 minutes a night, that's going to help us right now."