By Kevin Albarez, Louisiana Tech Associate Director Strategic Communications
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Fourth-seeded Louisiana Tech built a big first-quarter lead and held on late to take down fifth-seeded Jacksonville State 60-54 Thursday morning at the VBC Propst Arena.
Jacksonville State (12-17, 7-9) scored the game’s first basket, but Louisiana Tech (14-18, 7-9) went on a 12-0 run over a two-minute stretch. Robyn Lee scored nine first-quarter points, while Paris Guillory came in off the bench and scored five points and took two charges. The duo combined to go 6-6 from the field and 2-2 from long range.
The Lady Techsters came out and scored the first seven points of the second before going cold from the field. The Gamecocks closed the half on a 13-2 run to cut the deficit to 29-19 at the break.
Lee scored the first four points for Tech out of the break, and after a 3-pointer from Salma Bates, the Techster lead grew back to 35-21. Jax State dwindled the lead down to four with three minutes to go in the third, but Anna Larr Roberson hit three free throws to give Tech a 41-36 advantage going into the final stanza.
Putting pressure on the Jacksonville State defense was vital in the fourth quarter, as the Lady Techsters drew 11 fouls and connected on 15-of-17 from the charity stripe. Jacksonville pulled within three at 47-44, but Bates got fouled on a 3-point attempt and connected on all three to extend the lead. Jianna Morris and Guillory went 10-10 from the line over the final three and a half minutes to secure the win.
Lee led the Lady Techsters for the third consecutive game with 13 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Guillory and Morris added 12 apiece. Roberson finished with nine points and seven boards, and Bates chipped in eight.
Mya Barnes led the Gamecocks off the bench with 22 points and seven boards. Kristol Ayson was the only other Jax State player in double figures with 11 points.
Tech finished 37.5 percent (18-48) from the field, 25 percent (4-16) from deep, and 87 percent (20-23) from the line. Jacksonville State was 27.9 percent (19-68) overall, 26.7 (8-30) percent from long range, and 72.7 (8-11) percent from the charity strip.
NOTABLES
- Louisiana Tech improved to 3-0 all-time against Jacksonville State.
- Anna Larr Roberson moved into 18thg on the Lady Techsters’ all-time scoring list with 1,633 points, passing Whitney Frazier.
- Mackenzie Wurm had four blocks, the eighth game with multiple blocks. She has 80 blocks in her career.
- Lee surpassed 700 points in her career and sits at 707.
- Nativi finished with six boards, giving her 303 for her career.
- Morris now has 218 points and 102 rebounds in her freshman campaign.
UP NEXT
Louisiana Tech advances to the semifinals of the CUSA Championship and will face Middle Tennessee on Friday afternoon. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.