Sun Belt Conference Weekly News and Notes (Week 14)
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2015-16 Sun Belt Conference Composite Schedule
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Red Wolves Winning Streak Reaches 14; Aundrea Gamble Earns Student-Athlete of the Week Honors
NEW ORLEANS - Arkansas State continues to win as the Red Wolves' winning streak has now reached 14 games. Their last loss was back on Dec. 21. Last week the Red Wolves defeated both UL Lafayette and UL Monroe as they became the first team in the Sun Belt to clinch a berth into the 2016 Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championships, presented by First Bank and Trust.
The Red Wolves are currently 20-3 overall and 14-0 in league play and have climbed up to No. 44 in NCAA RPI and are receiving votes in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll.
Additionally, the Red Wolves are riding a 22-game winning streak at home which is a new school record. The 20-3 start is also a new record for the program.
Last week's hero for the Red Wolves was senior standout Aundrea Gamble, the Preseason Student-Athlete of the Year. Gamble produced the seventh 30-plus point game of her career in a 74-62 win over then second-place UL Lafayette at the Cajundome on Thurdsay.
The senior scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help the Red Wolves take the season series from the Ragin’ Cajuns. She scored 22 of A-State’s 40 points in the first half and helped her team build an eight point advantage at the break. In the second quarter she went on a 10-0 run to help her team extend its advantage. In the second half she clamped down defensively and went 4-of-4 from three throw line down the stretch as A-State closed the game on a 12-0 run to secure the win.
Her seven career 30 point performance ranks as the second most in A-State history and she is the third player in the Sun Belt to register a 30-point game this season. Against ULM she scored 12 points in 30 minutes of work and dished a game-high six assists to help the Red Wolves to their best start in school history at 20-3. The Red Wolves also tied a school record with their 14th consecutive victory Saturday afternoon.
Her efforts earned her Sun Belt Women's Basketball Student Athlete of the Week honors for the first time this season and the seventh time in her career which is a new A-State record. She surpassed the previous mark of six set by Sonja Tate in the early 1990s.
Aside from A-State's 14-game winning streak, two other schools have posted four or more game winning streak. Little Rock, which was 5-11 through the first 16 games, has now reeled off seven consecutive and is over .500 overall and sits in second place in the Sun Belt at 10-4. The Trojans have done it with defense again this season as they lead the league in points allowed, allowing just 51.4 points per game to opponents in league play.
UT Arlington is the other team in the Sun Belt with a four-game winning streak. The Mavericks have improved their standings of late as they are now fourth in the league standings with just six games remaining.
With just six games remaining, several teams are hoping to punch their ticket to the championship this weekend.
The 2016 Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship, presented by First Bank and Trust, is set for March 9-12 at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. Tickets can be purchased by calling your school's ticket office or by visiting Ticketmaster.com.
Recent Results
February 2 (Tuesday)
UL Lafayette 52, UL Monroe 40 *
February 4 (Thursday)
Appalachian State 76, UL Lafayette 59 *
Arkansas State 58, South Alabama 51 *
UT Arlington 53, Georgia Southern 41 *
Georgia State 73, Texas State 62 *
Little Rock 79, Troy 64 *
February 6 (Saturday)
UT Arlington 74, Georgia State 45 *
Appalachian State 64, UL Monroe 52 *
Arkansas State 94, Troy 80 *
Georgia Southern 78, Texas State 64 *
Little Rock 74, South Alabama 43 *
February 9 (Tuesday)
UT Arlington 80, Texas State 48 *
February 11 (Thursday)
Troy 84, Georgia Southern 68 *
Texas State 87, Appalachian State 76 *
Little Rock 53, UL Monroe 37 *
Arkansas State 74, UL Lafayette 62 *
South Alabama 83, Georgia State 45 *
February 13 (Saturday)
Troy 89, Georgia State 78 *
Arkansas State 78, UL Monroe 64 *
Little Rock 58, UL Lafayette 49 *
South Alabama 48, Georgia Southern 45 *
UT Arlington 65, Appalachian State 58 *
Upcoming Games
February 16 (Tuesday)
Troy at South Alabama * - 5:00 PM
February 18 (Thursday)
South Alabama at Appalachian State * - 4:00 PM
Arkansas State at Georgia Southern * - 4:00 PM
Little Rock at Georgia State * - 4:00 PM
UL Lafayette at UT Arlington * - 5:00 PM
UL Monroe at Texas State * - 5:30 PM
February 20 (Saturday)
Arkansas State at Georgia State * - 11:00 AM
Troy at Appalachian State * - 12:00 PM
UL Lafayette at Texas State * - 2:00 PM
Little Rock at Georgia Southern * - 3:30 PM
UL Monroe at UT Arlington * - 5:00 PM
* - Denotes Conference Game | All times central
WEEK 14 SUN BELT CONFERENCE STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Aundrea Gamble
Arkansas State | Senior | Guard
Arkansas State senior guard Aundrea Gamble helped Arkansas State become the first team to punch its ticket to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament this past week with a pair of victories over Louisiana-Lafayette and Louisiana-Monroe as the Red Wolves improved to 20-3 for the first time in school history and remained in unbeaten in league play with a perfect 14-0 mark. Gamble produced the seventh 30-plus point game of her career in a 74-62 win over then second-place Louisiana-Lafayette at the Cajundome. The senior scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help the Red Wolves take the season series from the Ragin’ Cajuns. She scored 22 of A-State’s 40 points in the first half and helped her team build an eight point advantage at the break. In the second quarter she went on a 10-0 run to help her team extend its advantage. In the second half she clamped down defensively and went 4-of-4 from three throw line down the stretch as A-State closed the game on a 12-0 run to secure the win. She finished the day with a Player Efficiency Rating (PER) of 36, the highest number for an A-State player this season. Her seven career 30 point performance ranks as the second most in A-State history and she is the third player in the Sun Belt to register a 30-point game this season. Against ULM she scored 12 points in 30 minutes of work and dished a game-high six assists to help the Red Wolves to their best start in school history at 20-3. The Red Wolves also tied a school record with their 14th consecutive victory Saturday afternoon.
PREVIOUS STUDENT-ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
11.17: Jaylen Gordon, UL Lafayette
11.24: Taeler Deer, Texas State
12.01: Shanity James, Little Rock
12.08: Angel McGowan, Georgia Southern
12.15: Alayshia Hunter, UL Monroe
01.04: Ashley Beverly Kelley, Troy
01.11: Khadija Brown-Haywood, Arkansas State
01.18:Ashley Beverly Kelley, Troy;
01.25: Khadija Brown-Haywood, Arkansas State
02.01: Marquita Daniels, South Alabama
02.08: Madi Story, Appalachian State
AROUND THE SUN BELT CONFERENCE
A-State Up to No. 44 in NCAA RPI
Arkansas State has steadily improved its NCAA RPI rating as the Red Wolves now sit at No. 44 with their 20-3 overall and 14-0 Sun Belt record. This week the Red Wolves will continue their road trip as they travel to Georgia to face Georgia Southern and Georgia State.
Streaks Continue
Three teams in the Sun Belt have combined to win 25 consecutive games. Arkansas State has reeled off an impressive 14-straight wins while Little Rock has won seven consecutive. UT Arlington is currently riding a four-game winning streak. A-State's winning streak is tied for the longest in school history and their 20-3 record is the teams best start through 23 games.
Offense Coming Alive
South Alabama played it's best game of the season to date in a 83-45 win over Georgia State last Thursday. The 83 points scored were the highest point total for the Jaguars this season and marked the first time scoring over 80 since last season. In addition, the Jags had five players in double-digits in scoring, the first such occurrence in nearly four years for the program.
Troy's ABK Climbing Sun Belt Charts
Troy’s Ashley Beverly Kelley is the Sun Belt’s leading scorer this season at 20.3 per game overall and 21.6 per Sun Belt game. The senior now has 1,784 career points, the most among active Sun Belt players. In addition to being the third most in Troy history (11 points from second), that number is also the 22nd most in the Sun Belt’s 34-year history. Beverly Kelley is already Troy’s all-time leader with 246 career steals, a mark that is now tied for 13th in Sun Belt history.