No. 17 Louisiana Tech 63, New Mexico St. 39

3/11/2006 6:21 PM

By SCOTT SONNER
Associated Press Writer

RENO, Nev. (AP) - Louisiana Tech failed to win the league tournament in 2005 for the first time in 10 years. The No. 17 Lady Techsters made sure that didn't happen this time.

Tasha Williams scored 19 points and Aarica Ray-Boyd added 15 Saturday to lead Louisiana Tech past New Mexico State 63-39 in the Western Athletic Conference championship Saturday, clinching a spot in its 25th straight NCAA tournament.

Last year, second-seeded Rice beat the Lady Techsters 86-66 to win the league.

``Last year we got upset here,'' said Shan Moore, who had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Louisiana Tech (26-4), which overcame 34 percent shooting to win its 15th in a row.

``This year we came back more determined to win.''

Jenean Ford and Cecilia Russell-Nava each had 10 points for New Mexico State (10-20), which shot 21 percent from the field - 12.5 percent the first half.

``It was frustrating, definitely,'' Ford said. ``I was missing a lot of layups or shots close to the basket that I shouldn't have been missing.''

Williams, the tournament MVP, made 5-of-9 field goals and 9-of-14 free throws. Ty Moore added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Lady Techsters, who failed to score the first 6 1/2 minutes of the game and made one of their first 13 shots.

``We didn't play our best game by any stretch of the imagination but that is what this team has done this year,'' Louisiana Tech coach Chris Long said.

``That's how we won 26 games. When we don't play our best or shoot well, we rebound,'' said Long, whose team won the battle on the boards 55-40.

``New Mexico State gave us everything they had. They hit us in the mouth right off the bat. And we threw a little bit of a pity party the first eight minutes of the game,'' he said.

Leading 35-30 midway through the second half, Williams scored seven points on a 16-3 run to give Louisiana Tech a 51-33 lead at 6:15.

Russell-Nava and Monique Bribiescas made back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the lead to 54-39 at 4:25. But Louisiana Tech answered with a 7-0 run, including Ray-Boyd's fourth 3-pointer, to put the game away 61-39 with 3:28 left.

Tristan Baker and Bribiescas opened the game with consecutive 3-pointers as New Mexico State jumped out to an 8-0 lead. But the Aggies missed their next 13 3-point attempts and managed a single field goal the rest of the half.

Amber Metoyer's basket inside started a 9-0 run for the Lady Techsters, capped by Williams' bucket inside for a 21-14 lead. Louisiana Tech led 23-17 at halftime.

``I don't think we played that bad, they're just that good,'' New Mexico State coach Darin Spence said.

The Lady Techsters won the regular-season title for the fifth straight year in the WAC, the 14th season in a row they have claimed at least a share of a league championship. They are one of only two schools, along with Tennessee, to have played in all 24 previous NCAA women's tournaments.

Williams, who set a WAC tournament record going 17-of-25 for 68 percent over three games, said the tournament MVP was an ``awesome honor.''

``But I don't focus on that stuff,'' she said. ``I'm just excited I stepped up and did everything I could to help the team win.''

Spence said Williams was the difference in the game.

``She's the best player in this league by far. How she didn't win player of the year of this league, I'll never know. She makes that team go,'' he said.