RUSTON, La. — Louisiana Tech outlasted UTSA by a score of 79-74 on Saturday night at the Thomas Assembly Center.
Tesha Smith paced the Roadrunners (6-10, 1-3 C-USA) with a career-high 20 points off the bench on 8-of-14 shooting from the field for her seventh double-digit performnces of the season and she also grabbed six rebounds.
Meanwhile, Mannasha Bell collected her first double-double of the year with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Kamra King also pitched in a double-figure performance with 13 points.
The first 11-plus minutes in the opening half went back-and-forth as each team held a lead at least twice. The Lady Techsters gained momentum a little after the nine-minute mark on a 7-0 run and led UTSA 41-33 at the half.
The score tied twice in the final 20 minutes of play with the final coming at the 4:44 mark on a pair of free throws from King.
Louisiana Tech closed out the game on an 8-3 run with six of those points coming from free throws.
The Lady Techsters had three players in double figures with Chrisstasia Walter leading the trio with 24 points. Kelia Shelton scored 23 and Whitney Frazier 12.
UTSA will close out its three-game road swing next Saturday, Jan. 17, when it travels to UTEP Miners for a 3 p.m. (CT) contest.