RUSTON, La. (AP) – Ayana Walker was so upset with her
performance in Louisiana Tech's first-round victory that she cried
when she was taken out of the game for good.
|  | | Louisiana Tech's Kenya Bibbs, on bottom, and Cheryl Ford celebrate on the floor of the Thomas Assembly Center. |
In the second round, Walker brought TCU to tears.
Walker rebounded from her worst game of the season with 17
points and 11 rebounds as Louisiana Tech beat Texas Christian 80-59
on Monday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
The Lady Techsters (30-4), seeded third in the East Regional,
advanced to the round of 16 for the ninth straight year, all coming
after hosting a subregional.
Walker, the Techsters' leading scorer, had a season-low two
points in the first round, though it was hardly a problem for the
Techsters as they beat Georgia State by 36.
Regardless, Walker was downright distraught.
"I didn't want to have a game like that ever again," Walker
said. "I have good teammates that were behind me ... and great
coaches."
Coach Leon Barmore said Walker was about as "low as you could
get the other night" and wasn't sure how she would bounce back.
It took the 6-foot-2 junior all of 15 seconds to put her coach
at ease, scoring on Louisiana Tech's first possession. She followed
that up by blocking TCU's first shot and the Techsters were on
their way to an 18th consecutive victory.
"I felt like if Walker got off to a good start, then everybody
would follow suit," Barmore said.
After Essence Perry scored Louisiana Tech's first eight points
of the second half, Walker scored the next six to open up a 52-36
lead.
A turnaround jumper by Walker with 3:30 left made it 69-49.
Tricia Payne scored 13 points to lead 11th-seeded TCU (25-8),
which could not hold up against Tech's defensive pressure and
dominant inside game.
The Lady Frogs shed some tears after the game, but were mostly
pleased with their first NCAA appearance.
"I think most of us will look back to two nights ago when we
beat Penn State that that was the greatest feeling we've had in a
long time," senior Jill Sutton said.
Louisiana Tech's post players scored 20 of the team's first 22
points. The Techsters made 53 percent of their field-goal attempts
in the first half, rarely shooting from beyond 8 feet, and held a
38-27 lead at the break.
"This is the most physical team we've played this year," TCU
coach Jeff Mittie said.
The Techsters, a team with no seniors, appeared to be headed for
an off year, especially when their best player, Catrina Frierson,
was lost for the season to a knee injury sustained during an
offseason pickup game.
Instead, Louisiana Tech, one of only two programs to be in all
20 women's NCAA tournaments along with Tennessee, is headed for its
18th regional semifinal with its sixth straight 30-win season.
"Not many of you all thought we'd win 30 games this year,"
said Techsters guard Brooke Lassiter, who scored 14 points.
Louisiana Tech will meet Missouri in the East Regional
semifinals in Pittsburgh.
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