Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball

The Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball team represents Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana. The team currently competes in Conference USA. The current head coach of the Lady Techsters is Brooke Stoehr.[2] Louisiana Tech has won 3 National Championships and has competed in 13 Final Fours, 23 Sweet Sixteens, and 27 NCAA tournaments. The Lady Techsters basketball program boasts 3 Wade Trophy winners, 5 olympic medalists, 8 members of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, 16 All-Americans, and 21 WNBA players. The Lady Techsters have an all-time record of 1043–264 with a .798 winning percentage, the third-best all-time winning percentage of any NCAA Division I program. Louisiana Tech, Connecticut, Tennessee, and Texas are the only women's basketball programs to win at least 1,000 games. The Lady Techsters have made 27 appearances in the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, which is the fourth most NCAA appearances in the nation.

For the Louisiana Tech men's basketball program, see Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters
2019–20 Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball team
UniversityLouisiana Tech University
First season1974–75
All-time record1073–295
Head coachBrooke Stoehr (3rd season)
ConferenceC-USA
LocationRuston, Louisiana
ArenaThomas Assembly Center
(Capacity: 8,000)
NicknameLady Techsters
ColorsColumbia Blue and Red[1]
         
Uniforms
Home
Away
NCAA Tournament Champions
1982, 1988
NCAA Tournament Runner-up
1983, 1987, 1994, 1998
NCAA Tournament Final Four
1982, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1998, 1999
NCAA Tournament Elite Eight
1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen
1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004
NCAA Tournament Appearances
1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011
AIAW Tournament Champions
1981
AIAW Tournament Runner-up
1979
AIAW Tournament Final Four
1979, 1980, 1981
AIAW Tournament Elite Eight
1979, 1980, 1981
AIAW Tournament Sweet Sixteen
1979, 1980, 1981
AIAW Tournament Appearances
1979, 1980, 1981
Conference Tournament Champions
American South: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
Sun Belt: 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
WAC: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2010
Conference Regular Season Champions
American South: 1988, 1989, 1990
Sun Belt: 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
WAC: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011

History

Conference affiliations

NCAA Tournament history & seeds
Years → '82 '83 '84 '85 '86 '87 '88 '89 '90 '91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18
Seeds → 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 10 6 6 4 2 1 2 3 1 1 3 5 5 5 11 11 — — — 14 10 — — — — — — —

Seasons
1982 Louisiana Tech women's basketball team
National champions* Conference champions† Conference tournament champions‡ Postseason bid^
Season Head coach Conference Season results Tournament results Final poll
Overall Conference Conference Postseason AP Coaches'
Wins Losses Wins Losses Finish
1974–75 Sonja Hogg Independent 13 9 — — — — AIAW State — —
1975–76 Independent 19 10 — — — — AIAW State — —
1976–77 Independent 22 9 — — — — AIAW Region 4 NR —
1977–78 Independent 20 8 — — — — AIAW Region 4 NR —
1978–79 Independent 34 4 — — — — AIAW Finalists 2 —
1979–80 Independent 40 5 — — — — AIAW Final Four 3 —
1980–81 Independent 34 0 — — — — AIAW Champions 1 —
1981–82 Independent 35 1 — — — — NCAA Champions 1 —
1982–83 Sonja Hogg
Leon Barmore		 Independent 31 2 — — — — NCAA Finalists 2 —
1983–84 Independent 30 3 — — — — NCAA Final Four 2 —
1984–85 Independent 29 4 — — — — NCAA Elite Eight 4 —
1985–86 Leon Barmore Independent 27 5 — — — — NCAA Elite Eight 4 7
1986–87 Independent 30 3 — — — — NCAA Finalists 3 2
1987–88 American South 32 2 9 0 1st Champions NCAA Champions 5 1
1988–89 American South 32 4 10 0 1st Champions NCAA Final Four 3 4
1989–90 American South 32 1 10 0 1st Champions NCAA Final Four 1 4
1990–91 American South 18 12 9 3 2nd Champions NCAA First Round NR NR
1991–92 Sun Belt 20 10 12 4 T-3rd Semifinals NCAA First Round NR NR
1992–93 Sun Belt 26 6 13 1 T-1st Finals NCAA Elite Eight 14 8
1993–94 Sun Belt 31 4 14 0 1st Champions NCAA Finalists 6 2
1994–95 Sun Belt 28 5 13 1 1st Finals NCAA Sweet Sixteen 8 10
1995–96 Sun Belt 31 2 14 0 1st Champions NCAA Elite Eight 1 5
1996–97 Sun Belt 31 4 12 2 T-1st Champions NCAA Sweet Sixteen 5 8
1997–98 Sun Belt 31 4 13 1 1st Champions NCAA Finalists 4 2
1998–99 Sun Belt 30 3 12 0 1st Champions NCAA Final Four 3 3
1999–00 Sun Belt 31 3 16 0 1st Champions NCAA Elite Eight 3 6
2000–01 Sun Belt 31 5 16 0 1st Champions NCAA Elite Eight 6 6
2001–02 WAC 25 5 17 1 1st Champions NCAA First Round 8 19
2002–03 Kurt Budke WAC 31 3 18 0 1st Champions NCAA Sweet Sixteen 6 9
2003–04 WAC 29 3 17 1 1st Champions NCAA Sweet Sixteen 7 12
2004–05 WAC 20 10 14 4 T-1st Finals NCAA First Round RV NR
2005–06 Chris Long WAC 26 5 15 1 1st Champions NCAA First Round 17 24
2006–07 WAC 17 13 12 4 T-1st Quarterfinals Declined WNIT bid NR NR
2007–08 WAC 16 15 9 7 T-4th Semifinals — NR NR
2008–09 WAC 21 13 12 4 T-1st Semifinals WNIT Second Round NR NR
Teresa Weatherspoon
2009–10 WAC 23 9 11 5 2nd Champions NCAA First Round NR NR
2010–11 WAC 24 8 15 1 1st Finals NCAA First Round RV RV
2011–12 WAC 17 15 8 6 3rd Finals — NR NR
2012–13 WAC 14 17 9 9 5th Semifinals — NR NR
2013–14 C-USA 12 20 5 11 14th Quarterfinals — NR NR
2014–15 Tyler Summitt C-USA 16 15 10 8 T-7th Quarterfinals — NR NR
2015–16 C-USA 14 16 9 9 7th Second Round — NR NR
2016–17 Brooke Stoehr C-USA 18 14 12 6 T-4th Semifinals WNIT First Round NR NR
2017–18 C-USA 19 12 10 6 T-3rd Quarterfinals WNIT First Round NR NR

Rivalries

Tennessee Lady Vols
See also: Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball
Louisiana Tech–Tennessee: All-Time Record
Games played First meeting Last meeting La Tech wins La Tech losses Win %
41 December 16, 1978 (won 64–56) November 23, 2008 (lost 59–94) 17 24 41.5%

WKU Lady Toppers
Louisiana Tech–WKU: All-Time Record
Games played First meeting Last meeting La Tech wins La Tech losses Win %
40 December 3, 1983 (won 82–50) December 5, 2011 (lost 54–69) 26 14 65.0%

LSU Lady Tigers
See also: LSU Lady Tigers basketball
Louisiana Tech–LSU: All-Time Record
Games played First meeting Last meeting La Tech wins La Tech losses Win %
29 January 24, 1975 (won 97–83) November 23, 2013 (lost 69–81) 14 15 48.3%

Fresno State Bulldogs
See also: Fresno State Bulldogs women's basketball
Louisiana Tech–Fresno State: All-Time Record
Games played First meeting Last meeting La Tech wins La Tech losses Win %
29 November 24, 1995 (won 77–59) March 10, 2012 (lost 61–89) 17 12 58.6%

Home venues

Thomas Assembly Center
Thomas Assembly Center
Main article: Thomas Assembly Center

The Thomas Assembly Center (TAC) has been home to the Lady Techsters basketball team since the 8,000-seat facility opened in November 1982. Constructed at a cost of $17.5 million, the TAC is a cylindrical arena with a concrete finish and bronze glass at the entrance level. In 2007 a new state-of-the-art maple wood floor was installed in the TAC and named "Karl Malone Court."

In the Lady Techsters' first game at the TAC, Louisiana Tech lost to USC, led by Cheryl Miller and Cynthia Cooper, 64–58 in front of 8,700 fans on December 4, 1982. However, the Lady Techsters picked up their first win at the TAC in their next game by defeating Alabama 83–56 on December 9, 1982.

On January 22, 1985, Louisiana Tech set an attendance record of 8,975 at the TAC in a women's/men's doubleheader in which the Lady Techsters defeated Northeast Louisiana 79–77 in overtime. The Lady Techsters have hosted 15 crowds of more than 7,000 and eight capacity crowds of more than 8,000. The Lady Techsters regularly rank in the Top 40 in NCAA women's basketball average attendance, including a program record average of 5,330 in 1983–84.

The Lady Techsters have been almost unbeatable at the TAC. Entering the 2010–11 season, the Lady Techsters boast a 390–39 record at the TAC. The Lady Techsters' 90.9% winning percentage at the TAC ranks third best among active arenas only trailing Tennessee at Thompson–Boling Arena (94.2%) and Connecticut at Gampel Pavilion (93.7%). The Lady Techsters have recorded thirteen undefeated seasons at the TAC. Louisiana Tech is a perfect 36-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament games at the TAC. The Lady Techsters won 161 consecutive games against unranked opponents at home from 1992 to 2004, and the Lady Techsters won 114 consecutive regular season home conference games between 1992 and 2007. The Lady Techsters are 158-11 all-time against conference opponents in regular season games at the TAC. The Lady Techsters have posted home winning streaks of 49, 52 and 62 games, all of which rank in the Top 15 in Division I history.

Memorial Gymnasium

In 1952, Memorial Gymnasium, now Scotty Robertson Memorial Gymnasium, was constructed on the Louisiana Tech University campus in Ruston to serve as the home of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball. After the inception of the Lady Techsters basketball team in 1974, Memorial Gymnasium was home to Lady Techster basketball through the 1981–82 season. In the first game in program history, the Lady Techsters lost to Southeastern Louisiana 55–59 in Memorial Gym on January 7, 1975. However, in their next game, the Lady Techsters rebounded to defeat LSU 97–83 to christen Memorial Gym with the first victory in Louisiana Tech women's basketball history on January 24, 1975.

During the 1979–80 season, more than 5,000 fans routinely packed inside Memorial Gym to watch the Lady Techsters play, and Louisiana Tech's attendance peaked at 6,220 for UCLA and 6,314 for Stephen F. Austin. After that season, the Louisiana State Fire Marshal ordered Louisiana Tech to not allow more than 5,200 spectators into Memorial Gym again. If Louisiana Tech did not comply, the fire marshal vowed to personally count the crowd and not let more than 4,800 enter Memorial Gym again. As a result, Louisiana Tech President F. Jay Taylor initiated the construction of the 8,098 capacity Thomas Assembly Center.

In the Lady Techsters' final game played in Memorial Gym, Louisiana Tech defeated Kentucky 82–60 on March 20, 1982 in the Midwest regional final of the first NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. Throughout the eight seasons the Lady Techsters played in Memorial Gymnasium, Louisiana Tech amassed 84 wins and only 6 losses at home. The Lady Techsters' 93.3% winning percentage at Memorial Gym ranks third best all-time only trailing Tennessee at Thompson–Boling Arena (94.2%) and Connecticut at Gampel Pavilion (93.7%).

Traditions
Main article: Traditions of Louisiana Tech University

Lady Techsters

I just didn't want us to be the Lady Bulldogs. I could hear people saying, "There comes Coach Hogg and all of her little b!+¢#ə$."

— Former head coach Sonja Hogg on the Lady Techsters nickname in 2009[3]

In 1974, Louisiana Tech President F. Jay Taylor established the university's first women's athletic program, a women's basketball team. He hired a 28-year-old P.E. teacher at Ruston High School, Sonja Hogg, as the program's first head coach. However, Hogg refused to call her team the Lady Bulldogs after the Louisiana Tech men's nickname. She asserted that bulldogs were "unfeminine" and that "a lady dog is a b!+¢#." For that reason, her first initiative as head coach was to nix the nickname Bulldogs from any connection with her team. Thus, Hogg decided to change her team's nickname to the Lady Techsters.

Hogg would not allow her Lady Techsters to wear knee or elbow pads because they were unladylike. A 1986 Sports Illustrated article stated, "A Lady Techster is likely to be a good student and a devout Christian, probably favors needlepoint over Madonna tapes on airplanes and fears a drug test about as much as she does an airport metal detector." The same article stated that Hogg's insistence that her players act like ladies gave the team an "almost antebellum image" that was well-suited to a conservative town like Ruston.[4]

Columbia blue
Columbia blue Lady Techster jersey with sleeves

In 1896, Col. A.T. Prescott, president of what was then Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, announced the selection of red and blue as the institution's colors. Red was chosen to represent courage, and blue was selected to embody loyalty. In the 1960s, Columbia blue was introduced to Louisiana Tech in various applications. In 1974, Sonja Hogg, along with the head of the university's art department, Raymond Nichols, presented various shades of blue to the athletics council, and Hogg's preference of Columbia blue was adopted as the primary color of the Lady Techsters. Prior to 2003, the university's teams, departments, and organizations used various shades of blue ranging from light blue to dark blue. Yet in 2003, Louisiana Tech standardized its shade of blue by adopting reflex blue as the official hue. However, due to Louisiana Tech's rich tradition in women's basketball, the Lady Techsters basketball team was granted the only exemption to not adopt reflex blue and was allowed to continue to use the traditional Columbia blue.

Jersey sleeves

In 1974, Sonja Hogg designed the Lady Techster jerseys with modest sleeves to avoid her players showing sports bra straps (or before their invention, regular bra straps) or underarms. As Lady Techster basketball rose to national prominence, the jersey sleeves became recognized as part of the Lady Techster brand. Sleeves remained a staple of the Lady Techsters jerseys throughout Leon Barmore's tenure as head coach. After Barmore retired in 2002, new head coach Kurt Budke introduced the first Lady Techsters sleeveless jerseys at the behest of the players.

Hoop Troop

The Hoop Troop is the basketball pep band at Louisiana Tech. The band has been under the direction of Jim Robken since 1991. The Hoop Troop travels to all postseason games including conference tournaments and NCAA tournaments. In 2005, the Hoop Troop was featured in a Sports Illustrated article entitled "Top 65 Things We Want to See During March Madness" which stated, "30) The Louisiana Tech pep band, a.k.a. the Hoop Troop, the funniest band in the land."[5]

Players
Pam Kelly

Honors

Wade Trophy

Three Lady Techsters have been awarded the Wade Trophy, the award presented annually to the best women's basketball player in the NCAA. Connecticut is the only program to have more than three players awarded the Wade Trophy.

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

All-Americans

Eleven Lady Techsters have been awarded 16 Kodak First Team All-America honors.

Conference player of the year

Fourteen Lady Techsters have garnered 19 conference player of the year honors.

Olympic medalists

Lady Techsters have won 5 Olympic Games medals.

NameCountryOlympiadEventResult
Venus Lacy United StatesAtlanta 1996Women's basketball1st
Janice Lawrence United StatesLos Angeles 1984Women's basketball1st
Kim Mulkey United StatesLos Angeles 1984Women's basketball1st
Teresa Weatherspoon United StatesSeoul 1988Women's basketball1st
Barcelona 1992Women's basketball3rd

Lady Techsters in the WNBA

Twenty-one former Lady Techsters have been drafted or played in the WNBA. Numerous Lady Techsters have played professional basketball overseas.

Year Rnd Pick Overall Player name Position WNBA team Notes
1997 Initial Player Allocation Janice Lawrence Braxton C Cleveland Rockers —
1997 Initial Player Allocation Teresa Weatherspoon G New York Liberty WNBA All-Star (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002)
WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (1997, 1998)
1997 2 4 12 Vickie Johnson G New York Liberty WNBA All-Star (1999, 2001)
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award (2008)
1997 3 1 17 Racquel Spurlock C Houston Comets —
1997 3 7 23 Debra Williams G Charlotte Sting —
1998 Undrafted La'Shawn Brown C Washington Mystics —
1999 4 10 46 Amanda Wilson F Phoenix Mercury —
1999 Undrafted Alisa Burras C Cleveland Rockers —
1999 Undrafted Monica Maxwell F Sacramento Monarchs —
1999 Undrafted Venus Lacy C New York Liberty —
2000 1 6 6 Betty Lennox G Minnesota Lynx WNBA Champion (2004)
WNBA All-Star (2000)
WNBA Rookie of the Year (2000)
WNBA Finals MVP (2004)
2000 1 8 8 Tamicha Jackson G Detroit Shock —
2000 4 11 59 Shaka Massey C Charlotte Sting —
2002 2 4 20 Ayana Walker F Detroit Shock WNBA Champion (2003)
2002 3 3 35 Takeisha Lewis F Seattle Storm —
2003 1 3 3 Cheryl Ford F Detroit Shock WNBA Champion (2003, 2006, 2008)
WNBA All-Star (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
WNBA All-Star Game MVP (2007)
WNBA Rookie of the Year (2003)
2004 2 4 17 Amisha Carter C New York Liberty —
2004 2 6 19 Trina Frierson F Seattle Storm WNBA Champion (2004)
2005 2 6 19 Erica Taylor G Washington Mystics —
2010 2 6 18 Shanavia Dowdell F Washington Mystics —
2011 3 4 28 Adrienne Johnson F Connecticut Sun —

Coaches

Head coaching records
# Name Years Seasons GC OW OL O% CW CL C% PW PL RCs TCs NCs
1 Sonja Hogg 1974–1985 11 362 307 55 .848 — — — 56 16 — — 2
2 Leon Barmore 1982–2002 20 663 576 87 .869 190 13 .936 56 19 13 12 1
3 Kurt Budke 2002–2005 3 96 80 16 .833 49 5 .907 4 3 3 2 0
4 Chris Long 2005–2009 3.7 115 71 44 .617 40 16 .714 0 1 2 1 0
5 Teresa Weatherspoon 2009–2014 5.3 170 99 71 .582 56 32 .636 1 3 2 1 0
6 Tyler Summitt 2014–2016 2 61 30 31 .492 19 17 .528 0 0 0 0 0
7 Brooke Stoehr 2016–present 2 63 37 26 .587 22 12 .647 0 2 0 0 0

Honors

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Lady Techsters championship banner

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year

USBWA Women's National Coach of the Year

Maggie Dixon Award

Conference coach of the year

Leon Barmore coaching tree
Kim Mulkey

Eight former assistant coaches under head coach Leon Barmore have become head women's basketball coaches.

Lady Techsters in coaching

Six former Lady Techsters have become NCAA head women's basketball coaches.

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See also

References
  1. Louisiana Tech University Quick Reference Logo Slick (PDF). August 10, 2018. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  2. "Louisiana Tech hires Brooke Stoehr to be new head coach". Hoopfeed.com. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  3. Jim Rapier (June 24, 2009), Sonja Hogg built the Louisiana Tech women's basketball program into a powerhouse, The Times-Picayune
  4. "Belles Of The Ball". Sports Illustrated. 1986-11-19. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  5. "65 Things We Want to See During March Madness". CNN.


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