Seeking their first NCAA Women’s Tournament visit in 15 years, the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters came up short in their battle with Missouri State Saturday, March 14, falling 43-38 in the 2026 Air National Guard CUSA Women’s Championship game in Huntsville, Alabama.
A disastrous third quarter, when the Techsters (26-6) were outscored 14-5, allowed the Bears (22-12) to get control. Coach Brooke Stoehr’s club had no inside offensive game and their bombs from the outside clanked off rim after rim. The loss ended La. Tech’s 19-game winning streak, the fourth longest run in the country.
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The Techsters, who have never won the CUSA title, haven’t advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 15 seasons. The last trip was in 2010-11 under former coach Teresa Weatherspoon following a 24-8 season. Tech lost to Rutgers 76-51 in Bossier City’s then CenturyTel Center in their initial outing as part of the Dallas Regional that year.
The Techsters played a better first half against the Bears than they did Friday in the semifinal against Liberty. Although they had a 1-for-8 start to the second quarter, Tech scored enough to lead 26-23 at the break. Once again, the lead came because of a defense that gave no quarter whether the Bears tried to score inside or outside.
Louisiana Tech and Missouri State players battle for the ball o Saturday, March 14 in the CUSA Tournament Championship game.
Playing in the Propst Center, Missouri State took a brief 19-18 lead in the second quarter before the Lady Techsters rea-asserted themselves to end the half on a 6-0 run.
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Jimmy Watson covers Louisiana sports for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at jwatson@shreveporttimes.com and follow him on Twitter @JimmyWatson6.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Missouri State wins CUSA women’s basketball tournament title
