Lady cagers stumble toward La. Tech's house of horrors

The Louisiana Tech women's basketball team does not treat its visitors with much hospitality.

Just ask its last 41 guests. Each came to Louisiana with illusions of beating the Lady Techsters and each went home with its tail between its legs. The 41-game home winning streak stands as the longest in women's college basketball and gives the Techsters the best home court advantage in the country.

"We're pretty good at home. We play hard and we have a lot of fan interest," Tech coach Leon Barmore said. "When you have good players, though, you should be able to take care of business at home."

Withstanding the physical play Tech embraces will be key to Penn State's success against the Techsters. The Lions were beaten badly on the boards last weekend by bigger and more physical Illinois and Purdue teams. They have had trouble all season against teams that feature an aggressive style of basketball.

Penn State will also have to tighten up its defense which was exploited for the first time all season last weekend. In the two losses against Illinois and Purdue, the Lions surrendered an average of 85 points per game. Both teams also were able to handle Penn State's full-court pressure with relative ease.

With all five Tech starters averaging double digits in points, the Lions could find it difficult to rediscover the defensive spark which carried them to a 10-4 start. All-American candidate forward Amanda Wilson leads the Techster assault, averaging 16.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. She is complemented by a dynamic backcourt of Tamicha Jackson and LaQuan Stallworth, who have teamed up for 24 points and 10 assists per game.

"We're the kind of team that when everyone is on we're pretty tough to handle," Barmore said. "But we need to be more consistent. We're going to have to play harder than we are now."

Despite facing the No. 4 team in the nation on the heels of a two-game slide, the Lions are looking forward to the challenge. They said they can learn from the mistakes made last weekend and use them to break back into the win column.

"You have to take a look at the positives and negatives of each game and really see what you can step up on," Lion guard Jamie Parsons said. "What it takes is faith in your teammates."