January 15, 2007 (USU Media Relations) RUSTON, La. - A 12-3 Louisiana Tech run to open the second half was too much for Utah State to bounce back from, as the Aggies lost to the Lady Techsters, 69-54, in Western Athletic Conference action Monday night at La Tech's Thomas Assembly Center.
Utah State is 6-10 overall and 2-2 in WAC play, while La Tech is 8-10 overall and 3-1 in WAC action.
USU head coach Raegan Pebley did not make the trip, due to her pregnancy, and assistant coach George Brosky was the acting head coach Monday night.
The Aggies shot 39.0 percent (23-59) from the field, including a season-low 1-11 (9.1 percent) behind the three-point arc. USU was also 53.8 percent (7-13) from the free throw line.
Louisiana Tech hit 28-26 (43.8 percent) field goal shooting, with matching 14-32 (43.8 percent) efforts in each half. The Lady Techsters were also 3-14 (21.4 percent) from three-point range and 10-16 (62.5 percent) at the charity stripe.
La Tech had a controlling 51-29 rebounding advantage, including 19 offense boards which led to a 17-5 La Tech edge in second-chance points.
Senior forward Brittany Phillips and junior forward Jenny Gross led Utah State with 12 points apiece, while junior guard Taylor Richards tallied 10 points to go with a season-high seven assists and tied a season-high with six rebounds. Sophomore guard Danyelle Snelgro chipped in seven points to go with four steals.
The Lady Techsters also had three players in double-figures, led by Eboni Mangum's 13 points to go with five assists, as well as 12 from JoKeirra Sneed off the bench, while Shan Moore tossed in 10 points. Ty Moore snagged 14 rebounds followed by Amber Metoyer's 12 boards.
After La Tech opened the game with a 10-4 lead, Utah State closed to 10-10 after a steal and layup from Snelgro and the two teams traded baskets, with Phillips hitting back-to-back buckets to knot the score at 14-all at the 11:42 mark.
The Lady Techsters then went on a 13-2 streak to take a 27-16 lead. USU closed to 32-27 at the half, just missing to trim the margin even more as senior forward Brittany Hagen's three-pointer rattled out at the buzzer.
The second half opened with a 12-3 La Tech spurt to increase the Aggies' deficit to 44-30 after a layup by La Tech's Tamika Kursh.
Junior forward Jamelah Brown spearheaded an Aggie rally with three points and a steal which led to a fastbreak layup from Richards to pull USU to 46-37, prompting a La Tech timeout. The streak continued with a turnaround jumper from sophomore forward Lindsey Freeze followed by an acrobatic running layup from Richard to cap the 8-0 USU run and pull within 46-41 at 11:48.
That would be the closest the Aggies would get, as the Lady Techsters pushed the gap back up to double-digits at 57-47 with 5:49 and La Tech hit 6-8 from the free throw line in the final minutes to ice the win.
Utah State returns home to host San Jose State on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. (MT) at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
Ticket prices for the regular-season games are $5 for adults, $1 for youth. Contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office at (435)797-0305 or at 1-888-U-STATE-1 (1-888-878-2831) for more information.
Utah State games can be heard on KLGN (1390 AM) in Logan with Evan Nyman calling the play-by-play and Clair Anderson providing color commentary for home games. They can also be heard on the web by going to the women's basketball home page at www.UtahStateAggies.com and clicking on the LISTEN link.
