Thursday, January 15
Appalachian State Comes from Behind to Defeat Arkansas State
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's basketball rallied in the last seven minutes of the game to get the 70-69 win over first-place Arkansas State on Thursday evening at the Holmes Center.
The Mountaineers (8-6, 3-2 Sun Belt) came back from a 15-point deficit with ten minutes to play, beating the previously unbeaten Red Wolves (10-6, 5-1).
The Mountaineers jumped out to an 11-7 lead with 16:17 left in the first half, with Maryah Sydnor leading the Apps with eight of the first 11 points. A three-minute drought would follow for both teams until Arkansas State went on a 5-0 run to take a 12-11 lead.
From there the Red Wolves would score nine-straight points, taking a 23-18 lead at the 7:26 minute mark.
The Mountaineers would come within one point with 5:18 to play in the first off an layup from KeKe Cooper, but the Red Wolves stayed in control, leading 37-26 at halftime.
Sydnor led the Apps in the first half with 10 points, while the team shot 34.4 percent from the field.
Arkansas State was led by Aundrea Gamble's ten points as the team recorded a 43.2 field goal percentage.
The Red Wolves came out in the second half hot, taking a 15-point lead at the 14:24 minute mark. Bria Huffman would respond by hitting two-straight jumpers and Sydnor would add a layup to help the Mountaineers trail by just nine points.
Things did not look good for the Mountaineers as A-State went on an 8-2 run to lead, 57-42 with 10:04 to play. The Apps scored five-straight points but the Red Wolves continued to find baskets, still leading by 14 points with 7:37 on the clock.
Over the span of three minutes, Katie Mallow would hit three three-pointers for Appalachian, sparking an 8-2 run to trail, 65-58 with 4:36 to play in the game. From there the Apps would score eight points to Arkansas State's one, as the Red Wolves led, 68-66, after two free throws from Sydnor.
With one minute to play Mallow stole the ball and hit a fastbreak layup, tying the game, 68-68. After a made free throw from A-State's Jamie Ruffins with 30 seconds left, the Mountaineers would bring the ball down the court.
Huffman came up big for the Mountaineers, grabbing an offensive rebound and hitting a layup to give the Apps a 70-69 lead with eight seconds to play. Arkansas State quickly moved down the court, but Ashley Bassett-Smith would block a last-second shot by Gamble, giving the Mountaineers the 70-69 win.
Sydnor notched her fourth-straight double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Mallow followed with 19 points. Cooper finished the game with ten points and six rebounds, and Bassett-Smith added four blocks in the victory.
The Mountaineers shot 40.0 percent from the floor in the game, grabbing 45 rebounds and tallying 15 turnovers.
Gamble led the Red Wolves with 21 points and eight assists as the team shot 43.5 percent from the floor. Arkansas State recorded 38 rebounds and 15 turnovers.
The Mountaineers return to action on Saturday when they host Georgia State at 1 p.m.
UTA Storms Back to Defeat Panthers
ATLANTA, Ga. - Trailing by nine points with less than seven minutes to play, UT Arlington found its early-season form to defeat Georgia State 45-39 at GSU Sports Arena on Thursday night.
The Lady Mavericks (9-6, 3-3) snapped a three-game skid and picked up their first road win in Sun Belt Conference play, as well as the first road win outside of the state of Texas this season. Rebekah Van Dijk earned her ninth double-double with a game-high 14 points and 12 rebounds.
"It was a really good win for us to steal one on the road," UT Arlington coach Krista Gerlich said. "I hope this snaps us out of our funk that we have been in. I thought we played hard the last seven minutes and we got to figure out how to play hard for 40."
Georgia State (7-8, 2-4) broke open a 25-25 game with a 9-0 run to take a 34-25 lead with under seven minutes to play. However, the Lady Mavericks stole momentum and the Panthers turned the ball on five consecutive possessions. UTA stormed into the lead on a 12-1 run, tying the game with free throws from Morgan Hunt and going into the lead for good on a lay in from Van Dijk with 3:30 left.
Cierra Johnson was second on the team with eight points for UTA and Chaun Williams led the bench with seven points. UTA has won all three meetings between the programs all-time.
UTA returns home for a quick home stand on Monday, welcoming Texas State to College Park Center at 5 p.m.
The teams played a defensive battle in the first half that saw each team go through spans without a bucket. UTA opened the game on a 7-0 run that was helped by an 0-for-17 effort from Georgia State as the Panthers were scoreless for the first eight minutes of the game.
Georgia State responded offensively to jump into the lead, as UTA's offense would quiet. The Panther's 10-0 run put their advantage at 17-11 before the Lady Mavs could answer. UTA closed the half strong, getting a bucket from Artavia Ford as the buzzer sounded to trail 19-17 at the break.
The Lady Mavericks and Panthers exchanged buckets early in the second half before Georgia State pushed into the lead. However, UTA outscored GSU 28-20 in the second to pick up the win.
Troy Scores 61 in Second-Half, Wins Fourth Consecutive
MONROE, Louisiana – The Troy women's basketball team didn't give in after a bad first half and dominated the second in an 82-77 win over ULM at Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Thursday night. The Trojans have now won four straight Sun Belt games, with three coming on the road.
Troy (9-5, 4-1) was down 33-21 at halftime after its worst shooting half of the season (8-of-36, 22 percent). However, the Trojans responded with their best shooting half (23-of-38, 61 percent) and quickly got back in the game.
"This was a true road game in every sense of the word," head coach Chanda Rigby said. "We had to fight and overcome so much to pull out this win. We've got a special team to be able to score 61 points in the second half."
Troy opened the second half on a 14-2 run, behind seven of Aissata Maiga's nine points, over just three minutes to tie the score. From there it was back-and-forth as Lacey Buchanon took over down the stretch for Troy, scoring all of her career-high 19 points in the second half.
Ronita Garrett posted a second straight double-double, her ninth of the season, with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Garrett also posted three blocks while Ashley Beverly-Kelley was the third Trojan to score in double figures with 14 points.
After Troy tied the game with 17:34 to go, the next 15 minutes featured 10 ties and 15 lead changes, due in large part to Buchanon and Garrett for Troy. Down 72-71 with 1:30 to go, Buchanon converted a three-point play with 1:20 to go to give Troy a 74-72 lead.
After a stop on defense, Garrett hit a jumper to give Troy a four-point lead with 52 seconds to go. ULM got within one possession, but the Trojans were clutch from the charity stripe, hitting 6-of-6 free throws to seal the game. Troy started the game 10-of-21 from the free throw line before hitting its last seven.
Troy forced ULM (5-9, 1-4) into 24 turnovers, with 16 in the first half that helped the Trojans stay in the game despite their poor shooting. The Warhawks also hit just 33 percent (10-of-30) in the first half before finishing at 38 percent (26-of-69). Sharnice Brooks posted 28 points, mostly from the paint, to go along with 12 rebounds to lead ULM.
The Warhawks outrebounded the Trojans, 54-43, with most of that deficit coming in the first half due to Troy's poor shooting. Both sides posted 20-plus offensive rebounds as ULM posted a 23-17 advantage in second-chance points.
The win snapped a seven-game losing streak to ULM for the Trojans. It also gave Troy its first win in Monroe since 2007-08 and first win over the Warhawks under Rigby.
Troy is back in action on Saturday when it returns home to host Georgia Southern at Trojan Arena. Tip is set for 2 p.m. with the men's game to follow at 4:15 p.m. The Trojans will also play at home on Monday night when they host Appalachian State.
Texas State Tops South Alabama Thursday
SAN MARCOS, Texas -- A career night by Kileah Mays and a team-high 19 points by senior Meghan Braeuer led the Texas State women's basketball team to a 63-42 victory over South Alabama Thursday evening at Strahan Coliseum. With the victory, the Bobcats improve to 9-6 overall and 4-2 in Sun Belt Conference play.
Mays finished the night with 15 points and 14 rebounds for her second double-double of the season and third of her career. Mays' 15 points topped her previous best of 10 most recently set against UALR on January 8.
After South Alabama made a three-pointer to start the contest, the Bobcats rattled off a 16-0 run to take the early lead. The Bobcat run was highlighted by a pair of three-pointers by Meghan Braeuer. Braeuer's first three of the contest was a fastbreak three from Ayriel Anderson.
The Bobcats run was then answered by the Jaguars, who produced a 10-0 run of their own to cut the Bobcat lead to three, 16-13. That run was halted by Braeuer's third three of the contest with 5:08 left in the first.
In a high rebounding game, the Bobcats ended the first half with 31 boards while allowing just 20 by the Jaguars.
The second half of action started off slow for the Bobcats as South Alabama cut the Bobcat lead to two with 16:38 remaining. Back-to-back scores by Kileah Mays propelled Texas State to a 21-7 run to build its lead back up to 16.
The Bobcats proceeded to keep the Jaguars at arm's length for the remainder of the contest as they never allowed the Jags to come any closer than 11 points.
Braeuer finished the contest with five made three-pointers, matching her career-high. Jacqueline Jeffcoat finished the night with 11 rebounds for Texas State and in just eight minutes of action, freshman Taeler Deer recorded a career-high eight points on 3-for-4 shooting.
The Bobcats will now hit the road for a pair of contests against Arkansas State and UT Arlington. Tip-off Saturday afternoon against the Red Wolves is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. in Jonesboro, Ark. Saturday's game against Arkansas State will be broadcasted on ESPN3. Live stats, live audio, and live video will be available at www.txstatebobcats.com.
Late Push Lifts Cajuns to 69-57 Win over Georgia Southern
STATESBORO, Ga. – Keke Veal netted a season-high 22 points and the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team forced Georgia Southern into 22 turnovers to record a 69-57 victory Thursday at Hanner Fieldhouse.
"Keke did a great job of taking the ball to the goal, especially in the second half," said associate head coach Sallie Guillory. "She didn't settle for bad shots. She attacked and was patient. Keke has been putting more work in the gym and her ball went in a lot more tonight."
For the ninth time this season, a Cajuns opponent committed more than 20 turnovers against the scrappy Louisiana defense as the Cajuns scored 20 points off 22 GSU miscues. In addition to leading the squad in scoring, Veal totaled a team-high five steals with Jaylyn Gordon adding three to the Cajuns total of 10 steals.
Kia Wilridge and Gordon joined Veal in double figures as Wilridge tallied her 11th double-figure scoring performance of the season with 14 points while Gordon added 10 for her ninth double-digit game. Gordon also recorded a team-best five assists.
"I'm happy for the kids, Guillory said. "This is something they've really been talking about a lot. They really wanted this win so to see their work pay off is really exciting."
The Cajuns jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first three minutes of the game with four different Cajuns scoring while forcing four GSU turnovers. However, Anna Claire Knight and Sierra Butler combined for eight points to help the Eagles come within one at 11-10 at the 13:46 mark with Louisiana missing eight of its next nine shots.
Louisiana put together a 13-0 run over a span of 4:19 led by six points from Robbie Brown. Adrienne Prejean started the Cajuns spurt before a three-pointer by Cienna Rodriguez gave Louisiana its first double-digit lead at 20-10 midway through the period.
Holding a 26-12 advantage with seven minutes remaining in the half, the Eagles pulled within seven before a Veal layup ended the GSU run to make it 28-19 with two minutes left in the period.
A three by Angel McGowan brought the Eagles within four at 28-24 but Gordon answered on the other end with a trey of her own to help the Cajuns take a 31-26 lead into the break.
Louisiana began the second half on an 8-2 run with four Cajuns helping to increase the lead to 39-28 with 16 minutes to play. McGowan and Knight brought the Eagles within six but the Cajuns were able to keep their distance over the next several minutes.
Leading 45-36 with 12 minutes to play, Knight hit a triple before a layup by McGowan pulled GSU within four at 45-41. However, the Cajuns were able to answer as Veal hit a jumper in the paint and Wilridge added six-straight points to push the Louisiana advantage to 53-43 with 4:41 to play.
GSU was only able to get back within eight as the Cajuns went 12-of-13 from the free-throw line in the last 2:34 to record a 69-57 victory.
Alexander led the Cajuns with a career-high 10 rebounds to help Louisiana to a 44-34 edge on the glass and 19-6 advantage in offensive boards.
The Cajuns finished with a 37.0 shooting percentage (27-of-73) while GSU was 43.8 percent (21-of-48) from the field. Knight paced the Eagles with 19 points while McGowan added 17 points and six assists.
Louisiana will begin a three-game homestand Saturday at 5 p.m. against South Alabama. The Cajuns will honor the late Kim Perrot at halftime with the unveiling of a banner at the Cajundome and a presentation of a framed jersey to the Perrot family.