Louisiana Tech Dominates Long Beach State

Debra Williams scored 20 of her 22 points in the first half Sunday and No. 4 Louisiana Tech routed Long Beach State, 88-56.

Louisiana Tech (1-1) scored 15 consecutive points late in the first half to build a 49-19 lead. Williams’ three-pointer at the buzzer gave Louisiana Tech a 53-29 halftime advantage.

The onslaught continued in the second half as Louisiana Tech opened with a 14-5 run to extend its lead to 67-34. Long Beach (0-1) never got closer than 31 points.

For Louisiana Tech, Maquisha Walker added 15 points, Vickie Johnson 12, Amy Brown 11 and Kendra Neal 10. Melissa Gower had 21 points and 16 rebounds for Long Beach.

“I still feel that we have to play teams like Tech for us to get better,” Long Beach Coach Glenn McDonald said.

Long Beach committed 32 turnovers against Tech’s full-court press and shot 40%. Louisiana Tech shot 48% and had 11 turnovers.

Playing for Long Beach were former Orange County prep standouts Adara Newidouski (Dana Hills, six points, five rebounds), Sarah Davis (Tustin, four points) and Aimee Periolat (Marina, three points).