Techsters player loses compusure

One of the main reasons that the Lady Techsters lost their season opener to Western Kentucky on Saturday night was that senior forward Tamika Kursh spent just nine minutes on the court.

Every team that hopes to be a regular winner must have an emotional leader and Kursh provides that for the Techsters. But Kursh lost her composure once again and rode the pine for 31 minutes of game action. Without her, coach Chris Long's team tried to survive behind lackluster play.

Kursh picked up a pair of fouls in the game's opening minutes, so she sat out most of the first half. She was back in the lineup to open the second half but picked up another quick foul under the bucket. Kursh protested vehemently and was hit with a technical foul, which also goes down as a personal.

She sat again -- went back in midway through the half and promptly fouled out. She came close to protesting that call also. If you recall, Kursh was the Techster player forced to miss a game last season due to getting into a near brawl with a Fresno State player.

If Kursh were an underclassman, you could understand her loss of control. But she's been around the block enough to know that her teammates depend on her. That may be true this year more than ever.