Monday, January 19
UALR Wins Eighth Consecutive
MOBILE, Ala. – For the second time in two weeks, the UALR women’s basketball team played stifling defense against South Alabama. For the second time in two weeks, a blowout victory was the result.
The Trojans allowed the Jaguars to score just 10 points in the first half and rolled to a 56-34 win at the USA Mitchell Center on Monday night.
Taylor Gault and Shanity James combined to provide more than enough offense for the Trojans, with Gault leading UALR with 23 points. James added a season-high 17 points while also bringing down 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. No other Trojan had more than 4 points.
On defense, UALR (14-2, 7-0 Sun Belt Conference) held South Alabama (3-14, 0-8) to 27.5 percent shooting including a lowly 16 percent in the first half. The Jaguars committed 18 turnovers and were doomed by their 10-point first half.
With the win, UALR completed the season sweep of South Alabama following a 71-37 victory over the Jaguars in Little Rock two weeks earlier that included an 11-point first half from South Alabama. The Trojans continue to have the best start in program history, winning 14 games in 16 tries.
The team has also won 10 consecutive regular-season league games, won eight straight games this season and evened the all-time series with South Alabama at 12-12. UALR’s streak of winning every Sun Belt game by at least 20 points remains alive, the Trojans are 7-0 in conference play for the first time since 2010-11 and the team remains in sole possession of first place in the league standings.
South Alabama scored the game’s first four points over a three-minute stretch, but UALR came back in a hurry. The Trojans went on a 15-0 run over the next seven minutes sparked by two consecutive baskets by Gault to tie the game. After that, James added two free throws and a layup and Keanna Keys had two layups of her own to force the Jaguars into a timeout trailing 12-4 with 12:30 left in the half. Gault hit a 3-pointer to score the 15th point of the run before South Alabama made a jumper to end UALR’s scoring streak.
The UALR defense was excellent in the first 10 minutes as well, forcing South Alabama to miss 12 of its 14 shots and turn the ball over six times.
By the end of the first half, the Trojans were still cruising offensively and defensively. The Jaguars made just 4 of their 25 field-goal attempts (16 percent) and turned the ball over 13 times. UALR, meanwhile, got 15 points from Gault and 10 from James and were well on their way to victory with a 31-10 lead at the break.
The Jaguars’ 10 points scored was one fewer than they managed in Little Rock on Jan. 5. That total is the fewest UALR has allowed in a half since Feb. 28, 2007 when it allowed 9 points to New Orleans. Those 10 points also marks the second-fewest points allowed in a half by UALR since the team began playing Division I basketball in 1999.
South Alabama came out strong in the second half, beginning the period on a 9-2 run that cut the Trojans’ lead down to 13 points and forced a UALR timeout.
But UALR regained control shortly after that, getting the lead back up to 20 points as Lexus Williams got two layups and a career-best two blocks in her seven minutes of action. UALR emptied the bench in the final two minutes, giving Sharde' Collins and Monique Townson some playing time as well.
Besides James’ 11 rebounds, UALR got seven rebounds apiece from Kaitlyn Pratt and Ka'Nesheia Cobbins. During the contest, James moved up to ninth all-time at UALR in career rebounds and also moved up to ninth in attempted free throws. Gault became UALR’s fifth-leading stealer all-time.
Cobbins led the Trojans with four assists while Alexius Dawn added three while scoring 4 points. Dawn and James had three steals each.
UALR controlled the fast-break game, scoring 10 points on the break while allowing none for the Jaguars.
The Trojans return home on Thursday for their next Sun Belt contest when they take on their Trojan counterparts from Troy. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m.
Beverly-Kelley Leads Troy, Scores 1,000th in Sixth Straight Win
TROY, Alabama – Ashley Beverly-Kelley scored a career-high 34 points, including the 1,000th of her career, as the Troy women's basketball team raced to its sixth straight win, a 91-87 victory over Appalachian State at Trojan Arena on Monday night.
Troy (11-5, 6-1) is now off to its best conference start since the 1996-97 season when Troy's lone NCAA Tournament team started Mid-Continent play 8-1. Troy's six-game winning streak ties the program's Division I era (1993-present) record, which was last accomplished in 2004-05.
Beverly-Kelley took over early and never let up as she drove to the basket at will against Appalachian State (8-8, 3-4). The junior was 10-of-18 from the floor and 11-of-16 from the free throw line as she lived in the paint, including during a crucial late stretch.
The Trojans were up one, 78-77, with 2:11 to go when Beverly-Kelley connected on the first of what would be three layups on three possessions. App State turned it over on both of its possessions between, and with 1:31 to go Troy had completed a 6-0 run and led 84-77.
Troy then hit seven free throws over the final 1:31 to seal the win, leading by as many as nine points at one time. Down by seven, App State-s' Maryah Sydnor hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to make the final score much closer. Sydnor fell just short of matching Beverly-Kelley as she led App State with 31 points on 10-of-14 shooting. The senior also had a game-high 11 rebounds.
However, the Preseason All-Sun Belt selection committed nine of the Mountaineers' 28 turnovers as Troy scored 29 points off of them. Rachel Reid swiped a game-high four steals and joined Beverly-Kelley in double figures with 16 points.
Lacey Buchanon scored in double digits for the fourth straight game for Troy as she dropped in 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Ronita Garrett was the fourth of four Trojans in double figures as she scored 11 points, but fell short of a fourth straight double-double with just six rebounds.
Beverly-Kelley, as usual, stuffed the stat sheet for Troy as she tied for team-highs with seven rebounds and three assists. She also posted two blocks and three steals.
In just her 77th career game, Beverly-Kelley surpassed the 1,000-point mark, doing so with a first-half layup. She became the 21st player in Troy's program history to score 1,000 career points.
App State outshot the Trojans overall as it fell just short of 50 percent (32-of-65) while Troy hit 44 percent (32-of-73). In a game that featured 60 combined free throws, Troy took a season-high 33 and hit 73 percent (24-of-33). The Mountaineers went 19-of-27 (70 percent) at the line.
The win for Troy sets up a showdown on Thursday against Sun Belt leader UALR. Tipoff is set for 5:15 p.m. at the Jack Stephens Center between Troy, the Sun Belt's best offensive team, and UALR, the league's best defensive team. UALR has won eight straight games and is the only team yet to loss a Sun Belt game.
Explosive Second Half Leads Texas State to Win over UTA
ARLINGTON, Texas – An explosive 21-4 run to begin the second half led the Texas State women's basketball team to a 60-53 victory over UT Arlington Monday evening. Four Bobcats finished the evening with double-digit points led by junior guard Ayriel Anderson with 13.
The Bobcats improved to 10-7 overall and 5-3 in Sun Belt Conference play entering a three-game homestand.
Early on the in the contest, the Bobcats found themselves in a 13-8 hole to the Mavericks largely due to quick turnovers by the Bobcat offense.
Back-to-back three's by Anderson and a lay-up by Jacqueline Jeffcoat produced an 8-0 run with 7:30 left in the first to give Texas State the lead for the first time since the 16:10 mark. The squads proceeded to exchange baskets before UT Arlington hit a buzzer beater at the half to take a one-point, 24-23 lead over the visiting Bobcats.
Down heading into the second half, Texas State produced a 21-4 run to take a 16-point lead over UTA. In that run, the Bobcats went 7-for-13 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe.
UT Arlington, however, was not giving up as it answered the Bobcat run with a 17-5 run of its own, cutting the Texas State lead to four with 4:26 on the clock. A free throw by Kileah Mays followed up by a jumper by Erin Peoples in the paint halted UTA's run and put the Bobcats back up seven with 3:54 remaining.
Texas State proceeded to keep the Mavericks at arm's length, never allowing the home team to come any closer than six points for the remainder of the game.
The Bobcats finished the game shooting 39.2 percent from the floor including a 43.8 percent clip from long range. Rebekah Van Dijk, a freshman center from UTA who is one of two athletes in the conference averaging a double-double, was held to just seven points, five of which came in the final three and a half minutes of the contest.
In addition to Anderson's 13 points, Peoples and Taeler Deer tallied 11 and Meghan Braeuer added 10. Mays led the Bobcats with 12 rebounds of which included five offensive boards.
Texas State will now return to Strahan Coliseum for a three-game home stretch beginning Jan. 22 against Georgia Southern.
Second-Half Surge Lifts A-State to Win over Georgia State
JONESBORO, Ark. (1/19/15) – Led by five players scoring in double figures, including junior guard Aundrea Gamble with a game-high 21 points, the Arkansas State women’s basketball team claimed a 76-65 Sun Belt Conference victory over Georgia State Monday night at the Convocation Center.
The Red Wolves erased an eight-point halftime deficit to collect their second straight win while also running their overall record to 12-6 and improving to 7-1 in league play. Georgia State fell to 8-9 overall and 3-5 in Sun Belt action with the loss.
A-State junior forward Khadija Brown-Haywood made a career-high four three-point shots and scored 14 of her 18 points in the first half to keep the Red Wolves within striking distance, but Georgia State shot .552 from the field, won the rebounding battle and got 16 points from its bench to build a 37-29 halftime lead.
“This was another game that we were glad to survive,” A-State head coach Brian Boyer said. “We certainly had some struggles. They came into the game playing a really extended defense that we had seen, but didn’t have a lot of time to work on it and we got rattled and we were out of sync a little bit. In the second half it was huge to get that run at the first of the half to kind of give our team some life. The defense was better, and we executed better offensively.”
GSU was able to hold its lead for almost eight minutes to start the second half, but A-State began a 12-0 run at the 13:33 mark that ended just over four minutes later with a Jasmine Hunt layup that put the Red Wolves ahead 54-46.
Junior forward Amanda Lawson provided a spark off the bench in the second tied the game with a pair of free throws with 12:01 to go. She got a putback on missed 3-point attempt by Gamble the next trip down the floor to put A-State up 48-46 and then did the same thing on the ensuing offensive possession to put her team up by four.
Lawson’s 6-0 run seemed to put energy back into the Red Wolves’ bench, after it had struggled to find answers against the Panthers’ zone defense for much of the first and second halves.
“That was huge for us,” Boyer said. “Things we didn’t get in the first half, like offensive rebounds and stick backs, she got and it was big because if you don’t get those rebounds then you are back on defense and it was great lift for our team.”
The Panthers were unable to get closer than six points the rest of the way, and Arkansas State’s lead reached as much as 11 on four different occasions, including the final score.
The second half saw the Red Wolves increase their shooting percentage from .393 to .500, while the Panthers’ percentage dropped to .400. After attempting just four free throws in the first half, A-State was much more consistent getting to the line as well. The Red Wolves made 17-of-21 free throws following the break and also outrebounded Georgia State 23-13.
Gamble scored at least 20 points for the 11th time this season, including the fifth game in a row. Along with Gamble and Brown-Haywood, senior guard Hanna Qedan (12), and forward’s Hunt (11) and Lawson (10) scored in double figures. All of Lawson’s 10 points came in the second half, while Hunt recorded nine of her 11 over the final 20 minutes.
Arkansas State was forced to play catchup for much of the half and was forced to contend with the hot shooting hand of the Panthers. Georgia State shot 67 percent (16-of-29) from the field in the opening 20 minutes. A-State committed six turnovers and gave up runs of 12-0, 8-0 and 6-0 to allow Georgia State to build a double-digit lead twice in the half.
The Red Wolves jumped out to a 7-0 lead but Georgia State responded with a 12-0 run of its own to take the lead from A-State. The Panthers got up 25-15 with 6:11 to go in the half, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Gamble and Brown-Haywood got the Red Wolves within 25-21. Brown-Haywood made it an 8-0 run by getting a steal and a layup to get within two points, but Georgia State responded with a 6-0 run to push its lead to 33-23 with 1:55 left in the half. At the time, the Panthers were shooting 80 percent from the field.
Georgia State was led by four players who reached double digits in the scoring column, including Alisha Andrews with a team-high 18 points.
The squad will return to action Thursday, Jan. 22 at Louisiana-Lafayette. The game is set for a 5 p.m. tip-off and can be heard live on 95.3FM The Ticket/970AM KNEA or online at AStateRedWolves.com.
Warhawks Capture Thrilling Win over Cajuns
LAFAYETTE, La. – It took an extra five minutes, but the ULM women’s basketball team downed in-state rival UL-Lafayette, 67-60, Monday night inside the Cajundome.
“Thrilling is an understatement,” said head coach Jeff Dow. “I’m really proud of the resiliency of our players. There were some times where we were teetering, but then someone would make a big play and bring us right back in. Just a solid all-around performance.”
The Warhawks (6-10, 2-5 SBC) shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and finished the night shooting 44.9 percent, while their defense limited the Cajuns (11-5, 3-4 SBC) to 34.9 percent from the field overall, including just 22.2 percent during the overtime period.
Sharnice Brooks scored a game-high 22 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had two blocks and one assist to lead the Warhawks.
Christina Gray grabbed 10 rebounds and added seven points and three steals.
Daja Chase and Chelsea Tieuel both chipped in nine points, with the former also collecting seven boards on the night.
Kia Wilridge led ULL with 14 points.
Brooks gave the Warhawks an early lead as she landed a jumper on the first possession of the game.
The lead switched five times over the next few minutes before ULL hit a layup and a three-pointer to take their largest lead of the game at 14-10 with 14:35 left in the half.
Ashley Aune sank a three-pointer of her own to help the Warhawks re-gain the lead, but the Cajuns matched the bucket on the other end for a 17-15 advantage with 11:38 before the break.
The three-pointer would be ULL’s last field goal for over 11 minutes as the Warhawks’ defense prevented the home team from scoring anything but a pair of free throws until the 31 second mark.
Alayshia Hunter’s layup with 10:20 left in the half sparked this 14-5 run at the end of the half to give ULM a 29-22 lead heading into the locker room.
The Cajuns opened the second half with an 11-3 run to take a 33-32, but two free throws by Chase and a jumper by Brooks put the visitors back on top (36-35) with 13:28 remaining.
UL-Lafayette re-gained the lead with as Simone Fields hit a field goal, but Brooks matched the bucket with 8:46 left to give the Warhawks a 39-38 advantage.
The Cajuns then went hit two three-pointers for a five-point lead, their largest of the game, with 6:54 left.
The home team maintained the lead until Aundrea Davis and Tieuel both sank shots from beyond the arc to knot the game at 53-all with 25 seconds left in regulation.
As Tieuel hit her three-pointer, ULL racked up an off-the-ball foul to send Gray to the line. The senior hit both free throws for the lead, but the Cajuns hit two of their own, tying the game and sending it to overtime.
ULL started the scoring in the overtime period with a jumper, but Chase hit one of her own to tie the score at 57-57 with 3:31 left in overtime.
Brooks’ shot gave the Warhawks the lead once again, but the home team tied it up with 1:38.
With the score knotted at 59-59, Gray went in for the layup and was fouled on the shot for the and-one. The senior remained calm under the pressure and sank the free throw to give the Warhawks a lead that they would not relinquish.
ULM’s defense prevented the Cajuns from scoring any field goals in the last 1:15 of the game to preserve the 67-60 overtime victory in the Cajundome.
The Warhawks return to the court on Thursday as they host UT Arlington at 5:15 p.m. in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.