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College basketball
March 15, 2003
TULSA, Okla. -- Cheryl Ford scored 21 as No. 6 Louisiana Tech beat Hawaii 85-58 Friday to advance to the Western Athletic Conference championship game.
The Techsters (28-2) dominated despite Hawaii smothering Ford until the second half, when she had 17 of her points.
Trina Frierson had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Amisha Carter and Amber Obaze each added 14 points.
The victory was the 26th straight for the Techsters, who have the longest winning streak in the country.
Hawaii committed 21 turnovers, 13 in the first half.
Coach Vince Goo said Louisiana Tech's performance was typical for a team that has gone undefeated in the conference. He said he hopes the Techsters represent the WAC well in the NCAA Tournament.
"With the way they were playing tonight, they definitely will," he said.
FRESNO ST. 81, SMU 67: Lindsay Logan scored 25 and the Bulldogs staved off a late challenge. Logan sank four 3-pointers and drove again and again to the basket as Fresno State (19-11) kept the Mustangs (16-15) off balance until nearly midway in the second half.
UCF 60, BELMONT 53: Celeste Hudson scored 16 and Marvelous Washington added 12 for the Golden Knights in the semifinals in Orlando.
Erin Paige added 10 points and 10 rebounds for UCF, which has won nine of 10 since losing at home to Georgia State 52-50 on Feb. 6.
UCF (19-10) led by as much as 12 in the first half, but Belmont closed to 31-25 by halftime.
Belmont (19-10) rallied behind Brandi Miller, who had a career-high 22 points, including 10-of-13 from the free-throw line.
UCF led 42-29 with 14:55 remaining, but a 19-10 Belmont run got the Bruins within four with 5:02 remaining.
But Belmont went scoreless for the next four minutes, allowing UCF to pull away.
Jenny Conkle's 3-pointer with 55 seconds left brought Belmont within 56-51, but Washington made four free throws in the final minute.
GEORGIA ST. 54, JACKSONVILLE ST. 47: Angelina Miller scored 18 and Monica Thomas added 15 to overcome a slow start for the Panthers.
Georgia State shot 18.5 percent in the first half, during which it trailed by as much as nine. Jacksonville State led 22-18 at halftime.
Thomas hit a 3-pointer with 15:36 remaining to give Georgia State the lead for good at 27-25. Thomas had 13 of her points after halftime. Jacksonville State (15-14) was led by Shanika Freeman's 19 points.
NO. 17 UCSB 83, UC IRVINE 50: Jess Hansen scored 16 and Mia Fisher added 15 to lead the Gauchos in Anaheim, Calif. UC Santa Barbara has won 20 consecutive conference tournament games over seven seasons.
NEVADA: Coach Ada Gee retired after 10 seasons. Nevada finished in 10th place with a 3-15 record in the WAC.