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RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Tasha Williams scored 20 points and Shan Moore
added 19 to lead No. 17 Louisiana Tech to a 69-60 victory Friday
over Nevada in the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference
tournament. The Lady Techsters (25-4) advanced to the championship game
against seventh-seeded New Mexico State on Saturday. They beat the
Aggies (10-19) at home last month 66-53 and at Las Cruces 79-72 on
Jan. 21. "New Mexico State has given us two tough games. They defend
well. We'll be ready because the championship is on the line,"
Louisiana Tech coach Chris Long said. Dellena Criner scored 15 points and Brandi Fitzgerald added 14
to lead the Wolf Pack (13-17). "Give Nevada credit. They fought hard. They have improved a
great deal over the season, probably the most I've ever seen," he
said about the Nevada team that went 8-22 a year ago. "They gave a lot of effort. We didn't get in the passing lanes
in the first half. In the second half, we extended them a little
bit," Long said. Moore scored nine of her 19 points in the final nine minutes as
Louisiana Tech broke open a tight game. The Lady Techsters led
48-46 with 9:25 left before going on a 15-6 run over the next seven
minutes to put the game away. Moore's three-point play made it 63-51 with 2:30 left. Nevada
was forced to foul and could get no closer than eight points the
rest of the way. "We knew coming in they would give us a tough game. From the
beginning of the game, they really wanted it," Moore said. Ty Moore had eight points and 11 rebounds for the Lady
Techsters, who led 34-32 at halftime. Louisiana Tech shot 46.4 percent for the game and held Nevada to
38.8 percent, including 4-for-15 from 3-point range. Nevada coach Kim Gervasoni said the Wolf Pack played hard but
lacked the intensity they needed at the beginning of the game. "We had our chances. They hit their shots when they needed to.
We did a great job of controlling the boards. We fought for 40
minutes and I am proud of the team for that," she said. "I love playing teams like La Tech. La Tech showed experience
down the stretch. Our team turned the corner in terms of mentality.
They believe they can compete with anybody in the country," she
said.
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