No. 24 Louisiana Tech 78, San Jose State 48

2/17/2006 1:06 AM

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Aarica Ray-Boyd scored a career-high 31 points and No. 24 Louisiana Tech beat San Jose State 78-48 Thursday night for its eighth straight win.

Ty Moore added 19 points and nine rebounds for the Lady Techsters, who moved into sole possession of first place in the Western Athletic Conference. Louisiana Tech (19-4, 11-1) has won 14 of its last 15 games.

Amber Jackson had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Spartans, who shot just 30.6 percent from the field. San Jose State has never beaten Louisiana Tech in 10 meetings between the two schools.

The Lady Techsters, back in The Associated Press poll for the second straight week after more than a two-year absence, dominated the overmatched Spartans (10-12, 5-6).

With Ray-Boyd handling the perimeter and Moore (8-for-8 shooting) taking care of the inside, Louisiana Tech took control early and kept up the pressure throughout. The Spartans, who missed 12 of their first 15 shot attempts, didn't score in the first 4 minutes of the game and trailed by as many as 34 points in the second half.

Moore scored on consecutive trips down the floor and Ray-Boyd dribbled the length of the floor before pulling up for a short jumper that made it 65-35 with 7:52 remaining. Ray-Boyd later added a 13-footer to put the Lady Techsters ahead 69-35.

Ray-Boyd reached double figures 7 minutes into the first half. The senior guard scored 16 points before the break and the Lady Techsters led 44-19 at halftime.