On Saturday night, Aarice Ray-Boyd torched the Utah State Aggies 2-3 zone for a career-high 29 points leading 24th-ranked Louisiana Tech to a 73-56 win.
The Texarkana, Texas, native hit 7-of-14 three-pointers, including 5-of-8 in the decisive second half, to lead Tech (16-4, 8-1 WAC) to its fifth straight win. The seven three-pointers ranks No. 3 in the Tech record books for a single game and was a career-high for Ray-Boyd, who also hit 8-of-10 free throws.
After a slow offensive start by both teams, Tech began to pull away midway through the first half. Ray-Boyd?™s second three-pointer of the first half at the 7:48 mark capped the 10-0 run and gave the Lady Techsters a 22-9 lead.
Nastassja Levingson?™s three-pointer with 1:55 to play in the opening stanza gave Tech a seemingly insurmountable 29-13 advantage. However, Utah State (1-17, 0-8 WAC) exploded for a 14-0 run capped by a 40-foot bank shot at the buzzer by guard Danyelle Snelgro to cut the Tech lead to 29-27 at the half.
Making matters worse for Tech was the fact freshman guard Eboni Mangum was carried off the court with 6.5 seconds remaining in the first half with a knee injury. Mangum was diagnosed with a sprained knee at the half by the Utah State team doctor and sat out the second half for precautionary measures.
However, any momentum Utah State possessed at the half was quickly doused by the outside shooting of Ray-Boyd, who nailed four three-pointers in the first four minutes of the second half.
Ray-Boyd?™s fourth three-pointer of the final half -- she hit Tech?™s first four shots of the second half -- gave Tech a 41-35 lead with 15:45 to play.
Tech pushed its advantage back out to double digits at 48-37 on a jumper by Ty Moore with 11:44 to play. Utah State cut the deficit down to eight at 61-53 on a lay-up by Lindsey Freeze with 3:24 to play before Tech ended the game on a 12-3 run.
The Lady Techsters hit only 37 percent (23-63) from the field but did hit 8-of-21 three-pointers and 19-of-25 free throws while forcing 29 turnovers which led directly to 31 points.
Chantella Perera scored 21 points to lead four Bulldogs in double-figures as Fresno State built and early double-digit lead and coasted to an 81-64 victory over Boise State on Saturday afternoon at the Save Mart Center.
Mirenda Swearengin added 17 points, six rebounds and three assists for the Bulldogs (15-5, 7-1 WAC), who with Saturday's victory clinch back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1990-91. Tierre Wilson chipped in with 12 points off the bench.
Faith Probst, making just her second career start, reached double-figures for the first time since Nov. 22, 2004 as she poured in 11 points to go with four rebounds and four assists. Probst was starting in place of leading scorer and rebounder Amy Parrish, who was serving a one-game suspension after being ejected for fighting in Fresno State's 70-61 loss at Louisiana Tech last week.
The absence of Parrish would not stop the Bulldogs, who shot 46.3-percent, knocked down 10-20 from three-point territory and led 45-21 at halftime. Instead, Fresno State was led by Perera (five rebounds, six assists, four steals), who is now averaging 17.8 ppg in four career games against Boise State.