Sun Belt Conference Weekly News and Notes (Week 16)
2015-16 Sun Belt Conference Media Guide
2015-16 Sun Belt Conference Composite Schedule
2015-16 Sun Belt Conference Standings
2015-16 Sun Belt Conference Statistics
Red Wolves Clinch Outright Regular Season Title; App State's Jones Claims Athlete of the Week Honors
The final week of 2015-16 women's basketball regular season comes to a close this week as the 2016 Sun Belt Men's and Women's Basketball Championship, presented by First Bank and Trust, is scheduled to begin March 9 through March 12 at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans.
Arkansas State (24-3, 18-0) clinched the No. 1 seed in this year's tournament with its win over Texas State on Thursday. The Red Wolves have won 18 consecutive league games and are 24-0 at home dating back to the 2013-14 season.
Arkansas State is one victory away from equaling the school record for most victories in a season and has climbed up to No. 37 in the latest NCAA RPI report. This week the Red Wolves will travel to Little Rock for a Tuesday night showdown of the top two teams in the Sun Belt as well as the top two seeds heading into the tournament.
Little Rock locked up the No. 2 seed in the tournament over the weekend as they have won 11 consecutive games. Little Rock leads the all-time series, 46-16.
With the top two seeds locked up for the tournament the final six seeds are still up for grabs. Seven of the eight tournament spots have been secured. Appalachian State and Georgia State are battling for the eighth and final spot.
App State's Joi Jones is determined not to let the Mountaineers hold onto the eighth and final spot go that easily as she had two big performances leading to a 2-0 week for the Mountaineers.
In the thick of the race for the final tournament spot, Jones averaged 21.5 points, four assists and 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting 68 percent (17-for-25) from the floor and 72.7 percent from the free throw line. For Jones, it’s the first conference player of the week award of her career and the second player of the week accolade for a Mountaineer this season (Madi Story - Feb. 8th, 2016).
In the 68-62 victory over archrival Georgia Southern, Jones had a hand in 16 of the final 18 points (eight points, three assists), including six-straight points when the game was tied, 60-60, with 2:56 left in regulation that sealed the win for the Black and Gold. Jones scored eight of her 15 points in the fourth quarter, which call came in the final five minutes where she went 2-for-2 from the field and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. It was also the third game this season where Jones notched at least 10 points, five assists and one turnover.
Against Georgia State, Jones went off for a career-high 28 points on 12-for-17 shooting (62.5 percent) from the floor and pulled down six boards in 38 minutes of action. Jones tallied 17 of her points in the second half and shot 7-for-10, while 11 of those points came in the fourth quarter and seven in the final five minutes of the contest.
Her exceptional play as of late has vaulted her into the top 10 in scoring, assists, assist to turnover ratio and in the top 20 in rebounding.
Jones and the Mountaineers will have their hands full this weekend when they host the top two teams in the conference, starting with Little Rock on Thursday at 5 p.m. in the Holmes Center. The Black and Gold will conclude the regular season against undefeated and the regular season champions in Arkansas State on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Recent Results
February 16 (Tuesday)
South Alabama 65, Troy 63 *
February 18 (Thursday)
South Alabama 68, Appalachian State 54 *
Arkansas State 79, Georgia Southern 52 *
Little Rock 54, Georgia State 39 *
Texas State 63, UL Monroe 57 *
UL Lafayette 59, UT Arlington 42 *
February 20 (Saturday)
Troy 100, Appalachian State 89 *
Little Rock 50, Georgia Southern 45 *
Arkansas State 85, Georgia State 64 *
UL Lafayette 59, Texas State 47 *
UT Arlington 40, UL Monroe 32 *
February 22 (Monday)
Georgia State 61, Georgia Southern 60 *
February 25 (Thursday)
Arkansas State 87, Texas State 50 *
Appalachian State 68, Georgia Southern 62 *
Little Rock 49, UT Arlington 43 *
Troy 90, UL Lafayette 83 *
UL Monroe 67, South Alabama 54 *
February 27 (Saturday)
Arkansas State 66, UT Arlington 44 *
Appalachian State 72, Georgia State 69 *
Little Rock 57, Texas State 45 *
Troy 74, UL Monroe 64 *
South Alabama 68, UL Lafayette 59 *
Upcoming Games
March 1 (Tuesday)
Texas State at UT Arlington * - 5:00 PM
Arkansas State at Little Rock * - 5:15 PM
March 3 (Thursday)
Little Rock at Appalachian State * - 4:00 PM
Georgia State at UL Lafayette * - 5:00 PM
South Alabama at UT Arlington * - 5:00 PM
Georgia Southern at UL Monroe * - 5:15 PM
Troy at Texas State * - 5:30 PM
March 5 (Saturday)
Arkansas State at Appalachian State * - 12:00 PM
South Alabama at Texas State * - 2:00 PM
Georgia State at UL Monroe * - 4:00 PM
Georgia Southern at UL Lafayette * - 5:00 PM
Troy at UT Arlington * - 5:00 PM
* - Denotes Conference Game | All times central
WEEK 16 SUN BELT CONFERENCE STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Joi Jones
Appalachian State | Junior | Guard
The Junior guard had work-man like performances that led the Apps to their first 2-0 finish on the road in Sun Belt play this season while improving the Apps’ chances of clinching the eighth seed for the Sun Belt Tournament. Jones led the team in ppg, points scored, field goals made, field goal percentage and tied for the lead in assists. The 21.5 ppg average over the two contests is the best two-game stretch of her career. Against Georgia Southern where she scored a team-high 15 points and dished out 5 assists with 0 turnovers, Jones had a hand in 16 of the final 18 points (8 points, 3 assists), including 8 points in the final five minutes of the game where she went 2-2 from the field and 4-5 of at the line to help the Apps pull out the road win over their archrival. She also tied a team-high with a 17 PER (Player Efficiency Rating) in 32 minutes of work. In the thrilling win over GSU, Jones scored a career-high 28 points on a career-best 12-17 shooting from the field in 38 minutes of work. She scored 17 of those points in the second half on 7-10 shooting, while 11 of those points came in the fourth quarter and seven came in the final five minutes of the contest. Her 28 points was also the highest for a Mountaineer on the road this season, while it was the highest since Troy last season on Jan. 19, 2015 (Maryah Sydnor – 31 points). Jones was as clutch as anyone could be in the second half, fourth quarter and the final five minutes of both games. In the final five minute of both wins, she shot 4-6 (.667) from the field and 7-9 (.778) from the line while averaging 7.5 ppg. Jones scored 27 of her 43 points in the second half while shooting 62.5% (10-16). In the two fourth periods, she’s scored 19 points on 6-9 shooting (66.7%). Jones has certainly upped her scoring where the six-straight games in double figures is a career long, while setting career highs in points in two out of the three contests. In February, she’s averaging 15.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg and 3.8 apg while shooting 49.5 percent and 77.8 percent from the free throw line. In last week’s contest, she shot an impressive 68 percent on 25 shots. Since her improved play this month, Jones has vaulted into the top 10 in scoring (10th-12.3), top 20 in rebounding (19th- 5.1 rpg) and top 10 in assists (8th – 3.0 apg).
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
02.15: Aundrea Gamble, Arkansas State
02.22:Khadija Brown-Haywood, Arkansas State
AROUND THE SUN BELT CONFERENCE
A-State Up to No. 37 in NCAA RPI
Arkansas State has steadily improved its NCAA RPI rating as the Red Wolves now sit at No. 37 with their 24-3 overall and 18-0 Sun Belt record. The Red Wolves have clinched the Sun Belt regular season title and will be the tournament’s No. 1 seed which begins March 9.
Championship Set to Begin
The 2016 Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship, presented by First Bank and Trust, will begin on March 9 and continue through March 12. The top eight seeds will qualify for the tournament with the champion moving onto the NCAA tournament to represent the Sun Belt Conference. Arkansas State earned the No. 1 seed, while Little Rock has earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament. The remaining six seeds are still up for grabs as is the eighth and final spot in the tournament.
Streaks Continue
The top two teams in the Sun Belt have combined to win 29 consecutive games. Arkansas State has reeled off an impressive 18-straight wins while Little Rock has won 11 consecutive. Those two teams are undefeated over their last 20 games combined.
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 21.2 per Sun Belt game. The senior now has 1,864 career points, the most among active Sun Belt players. In addition to being the second most in Troy history, that number is also the 15th most in the Sun Belt’s 34-year history, just 27 points from moving into 14th. Beverly Kelley is already Troy’s all-time leader with 245 career steals, a mark that is now 14th in Sun Belt history.
Jaguars Hit Conference Win Milestone
South Alabama’s win over UL Lafayette on Saturday gave the Jaguars their tenth conference win of the season, the program’s first 10-conference win season since the ‘12-13 season.
Block Fest
The Jaguars posted 17 blocks over their two games last weekend with ten coming in the loss to UL Monroe and seven more in the win over the Ragin’ Cajuns. The total moves USA’s season block tally to 162, which is a new single season school record for the Jaguars.
Ragin’ Cajuns Looking for Win No. 20
With two games remaining and sitting at 18 wins on the season the UL Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns have two final chances in the reguler season to get win No. 20 which would be the first time the school has achieved back-to-back 20-win seasons. The Cajuns will be playing in the Sun Belt tournament.