By SCOTT D. LONGSTREET

sdl018@latech.edu

 

The Lady Techsters’ (9-10, 3-2 WAC) quest for a sixth straight league title took an abrupt turn downward with a loss to Nevada (11-8, 5-1 WAC) at the TAC, 55-54 last Thursday. The women followed up the home loss with a much needed conference road win over Idaho (3-14, 0-6 WAC) Sunday evening 87-66.

The loss to the Wolf Pack was only the second conference loss at home since 1992. The Lady Techsters now sit fourth in the WAC behind Boise State, Nevada and Fresno State. Only Tech and Boise remain unbeaten on the road in conference at 3-0 and 4-0, respectively.

“I thought we defended them well, and I thought we did another good job on the boards,” Tech head coach Chris Long said. “We played hard tonight, but you can’t miss as many free throws as we did in a close game and expect to win. We are going to come out tomorrow and get back to work, and we are going to get better.”

The Lady Techsters traveled to Moscow, Idaho, Sunday and left the Cowen Spectrum with their third conference win on the road. In front of 437 fans, Tech opened fast in the game building an 11-point halftime lead.

With the score tied at 17, Tech went on an 18-4 run to push the lead over double digits by halftime. Another 8-2 spurt to begin the second half pushed the Techsters to their biggest lead of the contest, 53-36. From there the Lady Techsters used their experience and depth to coast to the easy win. When the final buzzer sounded, the final margin was 21 points, 87-66.

Senior Ty Moore and junior JoKeirra Sneed led Tech with 16 points on the evening. Sneed had a double double as she added 10 rebounds to her 16 points. Junior Natassja Levingston added 13 points and went three for six from beyond the three-point line.

Five Lady Techsters scored in double figures as sophomore Eboni Mangum added 11 points and senior Tamika Kursh had 10 points.

Tech as a team shot 44 percent from the floor including 42 percent from three-point range. The team showed drastic improvement from the free-throw line going 19-25 for a 76 percent average.

Tech out-rebounded Idaho 43-39 as Idaho lost its sixth straight conference game and 10th straight overall. Tech saw its 15-year conference win streak at home snapped by Boise State and followed it up with another home loss.

The Wolf Pack used a 50 percent second half shooting percentage from three-point range and inconsistent free throw shooting by the Techsters to win 55-54 last Thursday.

In the University of Nevada’s first win over the Techsters, the game developed as a highly defensive battle early. A 20-20 halftime score saw each team forcing 13 turnovers and both teams shooting under 35 percent from the field.

Strong shooting to open the second half propelled the Wolf Pack to a seven-point lead. The tenacious Techsters made one more run to take a 50-48 lead with just under four minutes to play.

Nevada senior Traci Graham hit a shot with 38 seconds left to give them a 55-54 lead. This set the stage for a final shot by the Techsters.

Senior Jessica Presler of Nevada stole as inbounds pass with 2.9 seconds left and secured the Wolf Pack’s first win in 13 tries against Tech.

Senior Shan Moore led Tech with 14 points, three assists and three steals. Sneed scored in 11 points and Ty Moore had a double double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

As a team, the Lady Techsters were only able to manage a field shooting percentage of 39 percent and missed both three-point attempts in the game. Tech went 6-17 from the free-throw line for a 35 percent free-throw percentage.

“It just seems like the more we work on it in practice, the worse we get,”  Long said. “It’s a shame because I felt like we did too many good things to let this one get away.

Graham led Nevada with 14 points including going three for six beyond the three-point arc. Presler added eight points and nine rebounds along with the one key steal in the game. Junior Andrea Sitton and sophomore Dellena Criner each added seven points.

The Wolf Pack went 5-14 from three-point range for a 35 percent shooting percentage for the game. From the free throw line, Nevada went 10-19 for a 52 percent percentage.

The Lady Techsters will next host conference rival Fresno State as both teams battle for third place in the conference. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Thomas Assembly Center.

Fresno State comes into the game leading the WAC in field goal percentage at 41 percent. Junior Tierra Wilson is third in the conference in scoring averaging 15.4 points per game while senior Chantella Perera is fifth in the league averaging 14.7 points per game.