By Kevin Albarez, Louisiana Tech Associate Director of Strategic Communications; featured photo by Darrell James
RUSTON — Down four at halftime, Louisiana Tech allowed just 19 points in the second half to run away from UTEP, 63-50 on Thursday night in the Thomas Assembly Center.
Robyn Lee and Isla Airey combined for half of LA Tech’s (8-4, 1-0 CUSA) 36 points in the second half as the Lady Techsters outscored UTEP (7-5, 0-1) 36-19.
The Miners pushed the tempo from the tip, and the teams traded baskets to open the game. The two teams would be perfect from the field before Lee missed the first shot of the game two minutes in. After the rebound would go out of bounds, the grad student would redeem herself on the inbound and tie it up at six. UTEP would hold a 15-14 advantage after one.
Airey got her only basket of the first half off a rebound to open the second and put Tech up for the first time in the game. The visitors would tie it up before a Sydney Thomas three put the lead back in the Techsters’ favor. Jianna Morris would hit another triple at the 3:41 mark to get LA Tech its biggest lead at 25-19. The Lady Techsters would go cold the remainder of the half, and UTEP would use a 12-2 run to take a four-point lead into the locker room.
Tech came out of the half looking to focus on defense and cool down the Miner attack that shot 50 percent in the first 20 minutes. After giving up a layup on UTEP’s first possession, LA Tech did just that. The Lady Techsters forced five turnovers and had two emphatic blocks by Airey to limit the Miners to just 13 points in the third.
The defense stepped it up another notch in the final stanza. The Techster defense held UTEP to just 2-17 from the field, with the only two baskets before the seven-minute mark. Lee and Airey accounted for 10 points over the final 10 minutes, and Paris Bradley hit a three, putting Tech up by 11 with two minutes to play. From there, Morris would seal the game with two free throws.
Louisiana Tech shot 41.0 percent from the field but struggled from long range, connecting on just 5-26. The Techsters shot 57.1 percent from the free-throw line. Lee finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, her third straight game of 17 or more points and five or more boards. Airey was the only other Techster in double figures with 10, a team-high eight rebounds, and three blocks. Jordan Marshall finished with nine and seven, while Bradley had seven points and seven assists. Morris chipped in nine points, five boards, and five assists.
UTEP finished 36.4 percent from the field and just 16.7 percent from deep. The Miners finished 8-10 from the charity stripe. Ndack Mbengue and Delma Zita had 12 points apiece. Mbengue added 12 boards for a double-double. Zita controlled the Miner offense with six assists.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Brooke Stoehr
“I thought tonight was a typical, hard fought conference win. We gave up too much in transition in the first half and talked about it at halftime. Once we settled down in the 2nd half and got our transition defense under control we got stops and were able to push offensively for some easy paint touches. We’ve talked a lot with this group about defending, rebounding and valuing the ball. If we can do those three things consistently we’ll give ourselves a chance on nights when we don’t shoot it well from 3. This group showed some toughness tonight in the 2nd half, and I’m very proud of them for getting off to a good start by protecting home court. We’ll need a to handle the quick turnaround and prepare for a really tough and physical opponent on Saturday.”
NOTABLES
- Jordan Marshall became just the third freshman in the country to have 100 points & 100 rebounds this season.
- Isla Airey finished with a block for the eighth consecutive game and 11 out of 12 games. She has nine games with two or more.
- Airey is the first Lady Techster with at least 10 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks in CUSA debut.
- After being held without an assist against TCU, Morris has had 14 assists in the past three games.
- Autumn Smith is 11-21 from long-range over the past three games.
- The seven assists are a career-high for Paris Bradley. The freshman has 24 assists over the past five games.
- Louisiana Tech moved to 6-1 this season when holding an opponent to under 60 points.
- Morris has 99 assists in her career.
- Every Tech player that came into the game recorded a rebound.
- The eight turnovers are a season-low for LA Tech.
- Tech has multiple blocks in 10 of 12 games this season.
- Louisiana Tech improved to 18-12 against UTEP all-time.
UP NEXT
Louisiana Tech will look to improve to 2-0 in CUSA when New Mexico State comes to the Thomas Assembly Center on Saturday, January 4. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT and will be streamed on ESPN+.
