‘Life-giving’

Paris Guillory only plays one way.

No matter time, score, or setting, the true freshman guard for the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters has shown an ability to hit big shots, lock in defensively, and bring energy into a program needing a spark over the last month.

She’s not even 20 games into her collegiate career, but Guillory put up one of the standout performances of the Lady Techsters’ season, playing as tough and gritty as only she can, to lift Tech (12-17, 6-8 CUSA) to its third-straight win 45-41 over  Western Kentucky on Wednesday at the Thomas Assembly Center.

Guillory ended with 10 points – her fifth game in double figures this season – to go with career highs in rebounds (8), steals (3), and assists (2), including a team-best 6 points in the fourth.

“She’s relentless,” LA Tech head coach Brooke Stoehr said of Guillory. “I talked about it in the summer and my words were, ‘when they’re keeping score and there’s a scoreboard up there, those two freshmen are going to compete and they want to win. We missed her out there all through non-conference and she’s just now getting her legs under her.”

With Tech trailing 39-33 with under 5:30 left in the game Guillory’s instincts kicked in as she burst in front of a pass from WKU’s Aaliyah Pitts and took it the other way but was fouled. She made both free throws to make it a 39-35 deficit.

In Tech’s ensuing possession, Anna Larr Roberson snatched an offensive rebound out of the air before handing off to Silvia Nativi, only for Nativi to find Guillory for a three-point look. Splash.

It was her only three of the game, but you couldn’t tell as Stoehr and the Lady Techsters’ bench erupted in a passionate scream. They could see the tide turning, and the freshman making plays at the center of it. It was her only three of the game.

After Guillory’s steal, Tech would go on to outscore WKU 12-2 over the final 5:17 of the game.

WKU shot 16-62 (26%) from the field in the ballgame, including 8-32 on layups as the Hilltoppers mustered only two points in the fourth.

Equally on the other hand, the game had the makings of a deflating Tech loss.

The Lady Techsters finished 33% from the floor with 20 turnovers and 16 made shots, including 4-24 shooting from three. WKU had 17 offensive rebounds and scored 16 points of Tech’s miscues.

But with Guillory’s late playmaking, along with Roberson’s steady presence on the glass (six rebounds in the second half), Tech continued its momentum to move into a tie for 4th in the league standings – shaping up for what could be an eventful March.

“I think we used our previous games as lessons,” Guillory said. “Since we get another chance to play all these teams, I think our momentum is going to carry us into the tournament.

“I think the previous games, it just gave us belief,” Guillory continued. “I feel like in some areas we were lacking belief but as we kept winning and it was like, ‘OK, we can do this now.’ I think that carried us into these games too.”

Along with Guillory’s defensive presence and big three, the freshman also came up big at the charity stripe, making three of her four attempts as part of Tech’s 8-10 mark at the free-throw line in the fourth.

But no free throws were bigger than fellow true freshman Jianna Morris, who may have finished with just 4 points but stepped to the line for the first time all night with 13 seconds left and Tech trailing by one.

Morris hit both shots with ease to give Tech a 41-40 lead, its first lead since the 3:50 mark of the second quarter. The Lady Techsters’ freshmen accounted for five of the team’s eight free throws in the final frame.

Roberson, who scored 12 points in the final home game of her LA Tech career, spoke highly of Morris and Guillory postgame and believes the duo has a bright future together.

“I’m super proud of them,” Roberson said. “They show up every day to practice and do what they need to do and give max effort and that’s all you can ask for. As an old senior looking down on them, it makes me proud to see what they have in store in the future and it also kind of takes a weight off my shoulders and the rest of the girls’ shoulders on the team. It’s just a big step seeing the last few months not give up and for Jianna to hit those free throws it’s an energy-giver and Paris is constant energy.”

Stoehr sat in the corner of the media room as her two players spoke after the win, nodding with affirmation and smiling each time the two traded compliments, particularly when Guillory sounded closer to someone of Roberson’s experience than a first-year players still learning the ropes.

For her, watching the development of Morris and Guillory has made an up-and-down season worthwhile. The pursuit of a championship is always the end goal, but Stoehr said if the freshmen duo sticks together in Ruston for the long haul, they have a chance to produce something special as they learn.

“When you’ve got a fifth-year senior talking about the effort and the energy those two freshmen put forward, it’s life-giving,” Stoehr said. “There’s only two of them and they’re not really big but we like their grit and we like how they compete. We talk about competitive character a lot within our program, and I think they’ve got the makeup. They’ve got some dog in them. And we need that.”