March 1, 2003

RUSTON, La. (AP) - As the only senior on sixth-ranked Louisiana Tech, Cheryl Ford stepped up on a special night.

Ford scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Lady Techsters (25-2, 17-0 Western Athletic Conference) to a 98-60 victory Saturday night over Boise State.

Ford was 8-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-6 from the foul line. She also had six blocked shots and an assist as she guided her club to its 20th straight conference victory and 23rd straight win overall.

"It meant a lot being able to have this kind of game because my teammates have been behind me my entire career here and I wanted to let them know how much they mean to me," Ford said.

The school held a special ceremony for her for Senior Night.

"It's going to be a sad day when she plays her last game here because she has meant so much to this program," Lady Techsters' coach Kurt Budke said. "This night was really meaningful for her."

The Lady Techsters held a 34-24 rebounding advantage and forced Boise State (9-17, 6-10) into 26 turnovers.

Ford scored six of her team's final 18 points of the first half to help build a 49-31 lead.

Abby Vaughan led the Broncos with 14 points. Camille Woodfield and Lynette Grondon each scored 13 points. Boise State had won five of its previous seven games.

Trina Frierson scored 16 for Louisiana Tech, Tasha Crain had 14 and Amber Obaze and Amisha Carter each added 12.

The Lady Techsters, who have the nation's second-longest winning streak, had one of their best shooting nights of the season. Louisiana Tech shot 61.5 percent from the field (40-of-65), going 20-of-32 in the first half and 20-of-33 in the second.

"I've never seen a statistic quite like that one," Budke said.