RUSTON, La. &045; When the head coach says he’ll go anywhere and play anybody, the assistant coach was listening.

Louisiana Tech’s Lady Techster basketball squad needed a game in early December when plans for one fell through, so assistant Chris Long went to work. The Vicksburg native went looking for a game, hopefully close by, and found out Alcorn State was in the hunt for the same thing.

So on Monday the two will meet at the Whitney Complex at Alcorn at 7 p.m. Monday in what may be the biggest home opponent for the Lady Braves in at least a decade.

&uot;We’ll go anywhere,&uot; said Tech head coach Kurt Budke, now in his third season. &uot;We’ll basically go anywhere and play anybody. They’re going to return the game next year. What I like about the game for both of us is it’s not a five- or six-hour bus ride for both of us. They said if we could come over there we could start the series at their place.&uot;

It’s a significant change of pace for the Lady Braves, who in recent seasons have featured teams from the Sun Belt, Southland and Atlantic Sun conferences as their bigger opponents in their pre-conference schedule.

Although the Lady Techsters (3-2) are currently not ranked in the Top 25, they bring an enormous amount of credibility as one of the top women’s programs in the nation. They are looking for their 24th straight trip to the NCAA tournament, one of only two teams in the nation who can lay claim to that.

The Lady Braves will visit Houston Baptist tonight before returning home to prepare for the Lady Techsters.

&uot;We want to do well and compete with the best,&uot; Alcorn head coach Shirley Walker said earlier. &uot;You play 80 percent Division I, and I’ll go back and get a Texas College, Philander Smith or some Division IIs or IIIs. I didn’t see where it would really do any good for my people and for the team. I want somebody to come in and really give us a good test to let us know where we are and what we can and cannot do.&uot;

The Lady Techsters believe in that philosophy, too, with many of their pre-conference games. They took wins over Ole Miss and Western Kentucky but dropped a match to Mississippi State, and they’re coming off a tough overtime loss to Illinois, 71-65, at home Saturday.

The Lady Techsters are playing without two key shooters &045; All-American guard Erica Taylor and Provine product Tosha Christmas.

&uot;It was tough &045; they banked a 3-pointer from about 40 feet to put it into overtime,&uot; Budke said. &uot;We had four games in seven days, and the last thing we needed was overtime. To bank one in from 40 feet, I could see it in my kids’ eyes. It was not something we needed at that time. We could be 4-1 and ranked in the top 20, but one shot knocks you down.&uot;

The loss of Taylor and Christmas has put a damper on the Lady Techsters’ source of scoring so far this season. Taylor, a senior who started all 32 games last season, is pregnant and won’t return until January after averaging nearly 14 points a game and 22 a game in the NCAA tournament.

Christmas went down with an injury.

The Lady Techsters struggled from the field against Illinois, hit 19 of 81 shots for the game and 8 of 42 in the first half. Guard Tasha Crain led the way with 16 points.

&uot;I think it had a lot to do with our fourth game in seven days,&uot; Budke said. &uot;Illinois is a good team. They’ve got a lot of size, and that causes problems, too. We kind of built the team around (Taylor) because we feel she’s one of the top 10 players in the country. We didn’t know she was pregnant until recruiting was over.

&uot;We’ve had a lot of people in different roles, but I don’t think Geno (Auriemma) would play without (Diana) Taurasi or Duke with (Alana) Beard. We’ve definitely missed her scoring.&uot;

The game won’t be a homecoming of sorts for Christmas, who is in her first season at Tech after transferring from Midland (Texas) Junior College. But it’s a big game for the Lady Braves, who played their best game so far Monday in a 61-48 win over Samford behind 17 points from point guard Shikhia Sims.

The Lady Braves struggled in their season opener against Wisconsin-Green Bay, 92-52, before annihilating NAIA Arkansas Baptist 104-30 Saturday.

The Lady Braves, with Walker entering her 27th season after suffering her first losing season last year since the 1988-89 campaign, haven’t played an opponent of this caliber in the regular season since facing Illinois three seasons ago.

&uot;We don’t mind going there,&uot; Budke said. &uot;We’ve heard about them. We love to play coaches that have been around for a long time and have established programs. We’re looking forward to a great game.&uot;