Recap: Women’s basketball falls on the road to Louisiana Tech following two-week conference hiatus
Women’s basketball suffered their second consecutive loss in a 60-55 contest to Louisiana Tech University following a performance where the Bulldogs held the Mean Green to 29 percent shooting overall and 14.3 percent from 3-point range.
For the first time this season, North Texas (8-4, 5-2 Conference USA) failed to shoot above 30 percent overall and above 20 percent from 3-point range in a single game.
“There were two things we had to do at the beginning of the game — shoot it well and rebound it,” Head coach Jalie Mitchell said. “We were outrebounded by one and also shot very poorly. We settled some and when you’re not hitting shots, you need to recognize when it’s time to get in the paint and make a play. Those two things just didn’t happen tonight.”
North Texas’ most recent game was a 62-52 loss to the University of Texas-El Paso on the road Jan. 16. Their following two conference series with Old Dominion University scheduled for Jan. 22 and 23 and Rice for Jan. 29 and 30 were postponed.
Louisiana Tech (11-6, 6-5 C-USA) looked to rebound against the Mean Green on their home court after losing three of their last four matchups.
During the first quarter, North Texas commanded a 17-12 lead where sophomore guard Quincy Noble and junior guard Destiny Brooks combined for 11 of the team’s 17 points.
The Louisiana Tech offense came around as the Bulldogs outscored the Mean Green 13 to 10 in the second quarter where senior guard Raizel Guinto knocked down a 3-pointer to close the half with a 27-25 North Texas lead. The Mean Green were held to 23.1 percent shooting (3-of-13 field goal attempts) in the second quarter and would not shoot above 30 percent in the third and fourth quarter.
Early in the third quarter, North Texas jumped to a 32-27 score where sophomore guard Jazion Jackson contributed with a layup and freshman forward Tommisha Lampkin added four points on a jumper and making two consecutive free throws.
Louisiana Tech’s offensive cashed in on North Texas’ fouls as the Bulldogs produced a 13-4 run, seven points coming on free throws.
A layup by sophomore forward Destinee McDowell and consecutive free throws by Jackson knotted things up at 40 apiece by the end of the third quarter.
Back and forth action with multiple lead changes led to North Texas taking a 48-46 lead on senior forward Madison Townley making two consecutive free throws.
Louisiana Tech sealed the win on a final 8-0 run where the Bulldogs cashed in on North Texas’ fouls once again. Senior guard Amber Dixon contributed on a layup and sophomore forward Anna Larr Roberson added a jumper.
The Bulldogs closed out the win on junior guard Keiunna Walker and Dixon’s free throws to finalize a 60-55 win.
Noble scored a team-high 14 points, while Lampkin added eight, and Brooks, Jackson and Townley scored six points. Sophomore guard N’Yah Boyd and Jackson led the team with three assists, and Townley snagged 11 rebounds.
Walker led the Bulldogs offense with 17 points and three assists as Dixon (13), Guinto (10) and Roberson (10) accounted for double-digit points. Roberson also tallied 12 rebounds to fulfill a double-double performance.
Up next: North Texas will finalize its two-game conference series against Louisiana Tech Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.
Featured Image: Redshirt senior forward Madison Townley shoots a contested layup against UTSA defender on Jan. 9, 2021. Image by Zachary Thomas
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