Lady Techsters advance at tourney
FRISCO, Texas – Louisiana Tech has taken the term winning ugly to a new level this year.
But these Lady Techsters never say die.
On Wednesday afternoon in the second day of the Conference USA Tournament, that Louisiana Tech fight was on full display.
Anna Larr Roberson scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and Keiunna Walker hit the go-ahead jumper with 6.5 seconds to play to lift the Lady Techsters to a 50-48 win over Marshall.
With the victory, Louisiana Tech (14-9) advances to face East Division champion Middle Tennessee on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
In a game that saw Louisiana Tech his just 1-of-16 3-pointers and see only three players score, the Lady Techsters still found a way to survive and advance.
"We missed some shots and all of a sudden we are down by three late," said Louisiana Tech head coach Brooke Stoehr.
"We were able to fight and just claw our way through it. This group has been like that all year. We haven't been real pretty; nobody is going to accuse us of that. But they have been tough and they have been gritty and they have found a way to fight and win."
Marshall entered the game having defeated both the East Division champion (Middle Tennessee) and the West Division champion (Rice) over the last three regular season weekends of the year. They won both games by double figures.
However, with time running out and Louisiana Tech trailing 48-45 with less than a minute to play,
Roberson and Walker both stepped up on the offensive end. Following a timeout, Roberson scored inside with 38 seconds to play to cut the deficit to 48-47.
It was just one of many plays that the sophomore forward made on the day. And far from the last.
"I thought (Anna Larr) came to compete," said Stoehr, who saw Roberson hit 7-of-11 field goals and 8-of-9 free throws in 39 minutes of action. "You could see it in her eyes and you could hear it in your voice when she was talking to her teammates on the floor and in the huddle. She had that look about her today."
Following another timeout, Louisiana Tech needed a defensive stop trailing by one. With the shot clock running down, Raizel Guinto – who pulled down a career-high 9 rebounds – stole the basketball with 14 seconds to play and raced into the front court.
Guinto found Keiunna Walker on the left side, who then drove middle, pulled up and hit an off-balance jumper from the free-throw line while drawing a foul.
"Typical Walker fashion," said Stoehr. "She gets us going and provides momentum. It was a huge shot. It was a little bit of an off-balance shot, but she got her shoulders squared and she had her eyes up and then she drew the foul. Sometimes good things just happen for you. I am really proud of her not putting her head down. She continued to compete even when shots weren't falling. She was able to make a huge play for us right there."
Walker stepped to the line but missed the free throw. However, Roberson pulled down her career-high tying 14th
board of the game giving the Lady Techsters possession and the lead. Following a Marshall foul, Roberson hit 1-of2 free throws to up the Louisiana Tech lead to 50-48.
One final chance for Marshall came up empty as Taylor Pearson's running bank shot down the left side of the lane was off the target as the final horn sounded.
Walker added 16 points while Amber Dixon scored 12 points and recorded three steals.
"These kids wants to win," said Stoehr. "They aren't ready to go home. It doesn't matter who we play, our kids just want to keep playing."
Savannah Wheeler led Marshall with 17 points.