The Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball team represents Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana. The team currently competes in the Sun Belt Conference. The current head coach of the Lady Techsters is Brooke Stoehr. Louisiana Tech has won three National Championships and has competed in 13 Final Fours, 23 Sweet Sixteens, and 27 NCAA tournaments. The Lady Techsters basketball program boasts three Wade Trophy winners, five Olympic medalists, eight 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 1251–429, with a .745 winning percentage, and are the fifth program in NCAA history to reach 1,200 wins. The Lady Techsters have made 27 appearances in the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, which is the twelfth most all-time.
History
Sonja Hogg Era (1974–1982) 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. Following 13- and 19-win seasons in 1974 and 1975, she never won less than 20 games in a season for the rest of her time at Louisiana Tech. The late 70s and early 80s saw much success, with Hogg leading the Lady Techsters to 4 straight Final Four appearances from 1978 to 1981, including 2 national championships in 1980 and 1981.
Hogg-Barmore Era (1982–1985) Leon Barmore joined the Lady Techster staff in 1977 as an assistant, quickly moving up the ranks. After becoming Associate Head Coach in 1980, he was named co-head coach in 1982. With this duo leading, Tech saw continued dominance, including 3 straight trips to the NCAA tournament, 2 Final Four appearances, and 1 appearance in the final match. Following the 1985 season, Hogg left to coach at Deer Park High School, leaving Barmore solely in charge of the program.
The 1982 championship team finally received championship rings in 2017.
Leon Barmore Era (1985–2002) Following Sonja Hogg's departure, Leon Barmore once again continued the dominance of previous years. During 16 years as the sole head coach, Barmore coached the Techsters to the NCAA tournament every season, 7 Final Four appearances, 4 more trips to the final round, and 1 additional national title during the 1987–1988 season. He also successfully navigated the Techsters through conference moves to the American South, Sun Belt, and WAC; winning 13 regular-season conference titles. Retiring after the 2001 season, Barmore had earned a coaching record of 576 wins and 87 losses, good for a win percentage of .869 and the 2nd best in basketball history. He has been inducted into both the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
Kurt Budke Era (2002–2005) After Barmore's retirement, Kurt Budke was named as head coach of the Lady Techsters. Budke had served as an associate head coach under Barmore since 2000 and had previously coached successfully in the NJCAA. In his 3 years as head coach, the Techsters earned 3 regular season conference titles, 2 conference tournament titles, 3 NCAA tournament appearances, and 2 Sweet Sixteen appearances. Following the 2004–2005 season, Budke was hired by Oklahoma State to fill the same position. He left Ruston with an 80–16 record.
Chris Long Era (2005–2009) Chris Long, another assistant who had been on staff under Barmore, was named as the 4th Lady Techsters head coach in 2005. While he started his tenure continuing the dominance of previous coaches, including 2 regular season conference titles and 1 NCAA tournament appearance, he was fired halfway into the 2008–2009 season after a 12–11 start. This followed a 16–15 season in 2007–2008 where Tech failed to play in the postseason for the second season in a row. He left the Techsters with a 71–44 record.
Teresa Weatherspoon Era (2009–2014)
After Chris Long was fired midway into the 2008–2009 season, Teresa Weatherspoon was named Interim head coach, later becoming the 5th head coach of the Lady Techsters. Previously, she had played under Sonja Hogg and Leon Barmore from 1984 to 1988 and had been an associate head coach at Louisiana Tech since 2008. As head coach, she led the Techsters to 2 regular season conference titles, 1 conference tournament title in 2009–2010, and 2 NCAA tournament appearances. Following Louisiana Tech's move from the WAC to Conference USA in 2013, Weatherspoon was fired after a 12–20 season where the Lady Techsters finished last in the conference.
Tyler Summitt Era (2014–2016) Tyler Summitt was hired in 2014 following Teresa Weatherspoon's firing. Previously he served as an assistant coach at Marquette from 2012 to 2014. Summitt gathered a 30–31 record during his tenure in Ruston. His time as head coach was marked by scandal, however, as news broke that he was involved in an extramarital affair with Brooke Pumroy, a player who had transferred from Marquette along with Summitt. After this affair was leaked, Summitt resigned on April 7, 2016. Associate head coach and former Louisiana Tech player, Mickie DeMoss, was named as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2015–16 season.
Brooke Stoehr Era (since 2016) Brooke Stoehr was hired to be the next head coach of the Lady Techsters following Tyler Summitt's resignation in April 2016. Previously, she coached for 4 seasons at Northwestern State. Before that, she played at Tech for 4 seasons from 1998 to 2002 under Leon Barmore. Currently, in her ninth season as head coach, she has led the Techsters to 5 WNIT bids, and 1 division regular season conference title.
Conference affiliations
1974–1987: Independent 1987–1991: American South Conference 1991–2001: Sun Belt Conference 2001–2013: Western Athletic Conference 2013–2026: Conference USA 2026–present: Sun Belt Conference
Seasons
Postseason results
AIAW Division I The Lady Techsters made three appearances in the AIAW women's basketball tournament, with a combined record of 9–3. 1979 First RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsNational Championship KansasNorthwesternTennesseeOld Dominion W, 100–61W, 88–52W, 102–84L, 65–75 1980 Second RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsThird Place Game KansasLong Beach StateOld DominionSouth Carolina W, 81–73W, 96–70L, 59–73L, 69–77 1981 First RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsNational Championship Jackson StateUCLAUSCTennessee W, 97–50W, 87–54W, 66–50W, 79–59
NCAA Division I Louisiana Tech has been to the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament 27 times. They have a record of 65–25. 1982 #1 First RoundSweet SixteenElite EightFinal FourTitle Game #8 Tennessee Tech#4 Arizona State#2 Kentucky#2 Tennessee#2 Cheyney W 114–53W 92–54W 82–60W 69–46W 76–62 1983 #1 First RoundSweet SixteenElite EightFinal FourTitle Game #8 Middle Tennessee#5 Auburn#2 Texas#2 Old Dominion#1 USC W 91–59W 81–54W 72–58W 71–55L 67–69 1984 #1 First RoundSweet SixteenElite EightFinal Four #8 Texas Tech#5 LSU#2 Texas#1 USC W 94–68W 92–67W 85–60L 57–62 1985 #1 First RoundSweet SixteenElite Eight #8 Illinois State#5 San Diego State#2 Northeast Louisiana W 81–57W 94–64L 76–85 1986 #2 Second RoundSweet SixteenElite Eight #7 Washington#3 Long Beach State#1 USC W 79–54W 71–69L 64–80 1987 #1 Second RoundSweet SixteenElite EightFinal FourTitle Game #8 Northwestern#5 Southern Illinois#3 Iowa#1 Texas#2 Tennessee W 82–60W 66–53W 66–65W 79–75L 44–67 1988 #2 Second RoundSweet SixteenElite EightFinal FourTitle Game #7 Kansas#3 Ole Miss#1 Texas#1 Tennessee#1 Auburn W 89–50W 80–60W 83–80W 68–59W 56–54 1989 #1 Second RoundSweet SixteenElite EightFinal Four #9 Oklahoma State#4 LSU#2 Stanford#1 Auburn W 103–78W 85–68W 85–75L 71–76 1990 #1 Second RoundSweet SixteenElite EightFinal Four #8 Southern Miss#4 Purdue#3 Texas#2 Auburn W 89–70W 91–47W 71–57L 69–81 1991 #10 First Round #7 Cal State Fullerton L 80–84 1992 #6 First Round #11 Northern Illinois L 71–77 (OT) 1993 #6 First RoundSecond RoundSweet SixteenElite Eight #11 DePaul#3 Texas#7 Southwest Missouri State#1 Vanderbilt W 70–59W 82–78W 59–43L 53–58 1994 #4 First RoundSecond RoundSweet SixteenElite EightFinal FourTitle Game #13 SMU#6 Ole Miss#1 Tennessee#2 USC#6 Alabama#3 North Carolina W 96–62W 82–67W 71–68W 75–66W 69–66L 59–60 1995 #2 First RoundSecond RoundSweet Sixteen #15 Furman#7 Oklahoma#3 Virginia W 90–52W 48–36L 62–63 1996 #1 First RoundSecond RoundSweet SixteenElite Eight #16 UCF#9 Southern Miss#4 Texas Tech#2 Georgia W 98–41W 84–46W 66–55L 76–90 1997 #2 First RoundSecond RoundSweet Sixteen #15 Saint Peter's#7 Auburn#3 Florida W 94–50W 74–48L 57–71 1998 #3 First RoundSecond RoundSweet SixteenElite EightFinal FourTitle Game #14 Holy Cross#6 Clemson#2 Alabama#4 Purdue#4 NC State#1 Tennessee W 86–58W 74–52W 71–57W 72–65W 84–65L 75–93 1999 #1 First RoundSecond RoundSweet SixteenElite EightFinal Four #16 UCF#8 Penn State#4 LSU#3 UCLA#1 Purdue W 90–48W 79–62W 73–52W 88–62L 63–77 2000 #1 First RoundSecond RoundSweet SixteenElite Eight #16 Alcorn State#9 Vanderbilt#4 Old Dominion#2 Penn State W 95–53W 66–65W 86–74L 65–86 2001 #3 First RoundSecond RoundSweet SixteenElite Eight #14 Georgia State#11 TCU#10 Missouri#1 Connecticut W 84–48W 80–59W 78–67L 48–67 2002 #5 First Round #12 UC Santa Barbara L 56–57 2003 #5 First RoundSecond RoundSweet Sixteen #12 Pepperdine#4 Ohio State#1 LSU W 94–60W 74–61L 63–69 2004 #5 First RoundSecond RoundSweet Sixteen #12 Montana#4 Texas Tech#1 Duke W 81–77W 81–64L 49–63 2005 #11 First Round #6 Temple L 61–66 2006 #11 First Round #6 Florida State L 71–80 2010 #14 First Round #3 Florida State L 61–75 2011 #10 First Round #7 Rutgers L 51–76
Rivalries
Fresno State Bulldogs
+ Louisiana Tech–Fresno State: All-Time RecordGames playedFirst meetingLast meetingLa Tech winsLa Tech lossesWin %29November 24, 1995 (won 77–59)March 10, 2012 (lost 61–89)171258.6%
LSU Lady Tigers
+ Louisiana Tech–LSU: All-Time RecordGames playedFirst meetingLast meetingLa Tech winsLa Tech lossesWin %29January 24, 1975 (won 97–83)November 11, 2016 (lost 73–77)141745.2%
Tennessee Lady Vols
+ Louisiana Tech–Tennessee: All-Time RecordGames playedFirst meetingLast meetingLa Tech winsLa Tech lossesWin %41December 16, 1978 (won 64–56)November 23, 2008 (lost 59–94)172441.5%
WKU Lady Toppers
+ Louisiana Tech–WKU: All-Time RecordGames playedFirst meetingLast meetingLa Tech winsLa Tech lossesWin %53December 3, 1983 (won 82–50)February 23, 2023 (won 70–65)282552.83%
Home venues
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.