By SCOTT D. LONGSTREET

sdl018@latech.edu

 

Smothering defense was the key to success Saturday night as the Lady Techsters (10-10, 5-2 WAC) easily defeated Fresno State (11-9, 4-3 WAC), 78-40, before 2,400 fans in the Thomas Assembly Center.

Senior Shan Moore led the Techsters with 17 points and midway through the second half became the 37th player in Lady Techster history to reach 1,000 points for her college career. Senior Ty Moore posted a double double in the win as well scoring 12 points with 11 rebounds.

“It is a great honor and a great accomplishment (for Shan Moore),” Tech head coach Chris Long said. “It is great company to be in.”

A quick start by Tech, including a 26-6 run midway through the first half, created a seemingly commanding 22-point lead with four minutes to play in the first half. Fresno State, with wins over two Top 25 teams this year, closed the first half with a 14-3 run to make the halftime score 39-28.

Tech opened with a 21-2 run to push the lead to 30 and cruised from there. Tech closed the game with a late 18-10 run to finish out the score at 78-40. The 38-point margin is the largest winning margin this  season.

“We played a complete game,” Long said. “We had it going both offensively and defensively.”

Tech held Fresno State to 25.5 percent from the field including 0-11 from beyond the three-point stripe. Tech finished 47.4 percent from the field while shooting 5-10 on three-pointers. The Techsters forced 23 turnovers and had 10 steals.

Tech also dominated on the boards as well by out rebounding the Bulldogs of Fresno State 45-26 including a 27-9 advantage in the second half. Tech had a 33-20 edge on the defensive glass as well.

“We worked well on the boards,” Long said. “When we can rebound well it improves our chances in the game.”

Also helping Tech in scoring was sophomore Eboni Mangum with 14 points and three assists. Freshman Shanavia Dowdell had career highs  with ten points and seven rebounds. Junior Nastassja Levingston added a team-high four assists to her nine points.

A pair of seniors led Fresno State. Paige Diggs had ten points, and Chantella Perera had eight points. Junior Tierre Wilson led the team with five rebounds, but also had six turnovers.

The Lady Techsters play at Nevada tonight in the Lawler Event Center. Tip off is set for 9 p.m. Tech is looking to avenge their earlier home loss to the Wolf Pack in this battle for second place in the WAC.

The Wolf Pack are led by sophomore Dellena Criner who is leading the WAC with 2.9 steals per game and 14.4 points per game, which are a team high and fifth overall in the WAC. Senior Traci Graham is second on the team in scoring average with 13.1 points per game which is eighth in the WAC.

Senior Jessica Pressler leads Nevada in rebounding with 5.8 per game, good for ninth in WAC.

“They like to pressure the basketball,” Long said. “We need to make our free throws and take care of the ball.”

Nevada currently leads the WAC in both steals with 12.8 per game and turnover margin at +4.55 per game.

After the trip to Nevada, the Lady Techsters will travel to Boise to take on first-place Boise State Saturday night. Tip off is scheduled for 8 p.m. Tech will be looking to take first place from the Broncos, who ended the Techsters 15-year conference home win streak.

“It is a tough road trip for us,” Long said. “We travel to the top two teams in the WAC on back-to-back road games. If we play well, we can come out with two big wins.”

Boise State leads the WAC in four offensive categories including scoring with 69.6 points per game, scoring margin with +9.9 points, and field goal percentage with 40.9 percent. Boise State also leads in scoring defense with 59.7 points per game allowed.