Louisiana Tech set to take on Missouri State in WNIT
RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech will host its first national postseason tournament in almost a decade when the Lady Techsters welcome Missouri State to the Thomas Assembly Center tonight for the first round of the WNIT.
Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. Louisiana Tech (19-11) gets a second chance after a disappointing performance in a 76-69 loss to North Texas in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament last week.
“We had a bad taste in our mouths from our game last week and our early exit in the tournament,” said Louisiana Tech head coach Brooke Stoehr.
“They wanted another opportunity to play and a lot of times teams don’t get those second chances. This group is fortunate to have that, and I think their body of work earned them this opportunity.
“Just being able to play in postseason is a big deal. We are in year two and this is backto-back postseasons for them.
“We experienced it by going on the road last year, but our players are very excited about playing at home. We stress to our team it is an opportunity to compete for a championship. It’s an opportunity to play in March.
“There are a lot of teams that aren’t playing now. It’s a really big deal any time we get the opportunity to put that uniform on again.”
Louisiana Tech earned its second straight WNIT appearance by recording 19 wins – the most by a Lady Techster team since 2010-11 – including a 7-3 record against teams competing in this year’s NCAA Tournament or WNIT.
It marks the 33rd national postseason appearance for Louisiana Tech in its 44-year history, with 27 NCAA, three AIAW and three WNIT appearances.
The Lady Techsters will be playing their first home postseason game since defeating SMU in the first round of the 2009 WNIT. Louisiana Tech fell in last year’s first round game in overtime on the road against SMU 75-70.
Senior Alexus Malone gets another opportunity to play on the floor of the Thomas Assembly Center.
The first-team All-Conference USA honoree leads Louisiana Tech in scoring (14.6 ppg) and
on the boards (9.0 rpg), while the Lady Techster guard tandem of Kierra Anthony (second team All-CUSA, 14.1 ppg) and Taylor Stahly (11.0 ppg, 83 3-pointers) provide a complementary piece of the puzzle.
Missouri State (20-11) is making its fourth straight and 22nd overall appearance, its seventh in the WNIT.
The Bears finished as the runner up in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 15-3 record in league play led by head coach Kellie Jolly Harper, a former Tennessee Lady Vol.
The Bears lost 70-58 to Northern Iowa in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
“Missouri State is very solid,” said Stoehr.
“They finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference. Kellie does a great job.
“They are going to defend well. They aren’t going to make a lot of mistakes. They don’t beat themselves and that is the sign of a good team.
“They are averaging just under 12 turnovers per game. They score the ball well. They have three in double figures.
“We have to do a great job on those three, but they are averaging 70 points a game. We have to be really, really good defensively.
“We have to have a better effort defensively than we did last week (against North Texas).”
Liza Fruendt (16.0 ppg, 69 3-pointers), Alexa Willard (10.9 ppg) and Aubrey Buckley (10.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg) lead Missouri State offensively.
Missouri State leads the series 2-1, including a 78-65 win over the Lady Techsters in their last meeting in Ruston in 2011-12.