Friday, November 13
Troy Folls Away in Season Opening Win
TROY, Alabama – The Troy women's basketball team shut down West Alabama in the second half and pulled away with a 103-72 win at Trojan Arena on Friday in the Trojans' season opener.
Senior Ashley Beverly Kelley, a Mid-Major All-American, led the Trojans with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including 4-of-5 from deep, marking the 25th 20-point game of her career. She led four Troy starters who scored in double figures and also tied a career-high with seven steals.
Troy (1-0) forced West Alabama into 32 turnovers, including 18 in the first half. However, the Tigers began to find their way behind the Trojan press and closed the second quarter on a 12-0 run that cut Troy's lead to 57-45 at halftime.
"I would've loved to have played better in the first half, especially on the defensive end," Troy head coach Chanda Rigby said. "It forced us to get out of our press in the second half, which we never want to do. But, to be able to concentrated on a few things and do them well, we just went to our half court defense."
In their half court defense, Troy held the Tigers to only 27 points on 36 percent shooting (10-of-28) in the second half and pulled away for their sixth straight win at Trojan Arena. Junior Caitlyn Ramirez sparked the Troy offense in the second half as she went 5-for-5 in the final frame. The Preseason All-Sun Belt selection finished with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting and also chipped in four steals.
Despite West Alabama's ability to score in the first half, Troy's 3-point shooting kept it in control as the Trojans hit 10-of-21 deep balls in the opening two quarters. Troy finished 11-of-31 as senior Rachel Reid joined Beverly Kelley with four 3-pointers to make up her 12 points. Junior college transfer Ta'Kierra Gibbs also hit two treys for the Trojans and was the fourth Troy player in double figures with 10 points.
Rigby and the Trojans routinely substituted five players at a time, and therefore evenly distributed the games minutes among their 13 available players. Every Trojan played at least nine minutes and none played more than Beverly Kelley's 27 minutes.
Sophomore Amanda Mendoza was perhaps the biggest spark off the bench as the 5-foot-3 junior college transfer dished out 12 assists and had no turnovers in 20 minutes. Freshman Amahni Upshaw also had an impressive debut with eight points and a team-best eight rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.
Troy finished the game at 48 percent (40-of-83) from the floor while West Alabama shot 46 percent (28-of-61). Troy scored 37 points off of the Tiger's turnovers and forced 30-plus turnovers for the ninth time under Rigby who began her fourth season at Troy on Friday.
Ariel Wilson led West Alabama with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting while Sydney King was also 6-of-10, scoring 14 points off the bench.
Troy now turns its attention to a tough road game at Samford on Tuesday. The Trojans and Bulldogs will tip at 6 p.m. at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham. Troy defeated Samford at Trojan Arena last season, 76-67.
Hunter's Big Start Lifts Warhawks in Opener
MONROE, La. – Alayshia Hunter poured in 12 first-quarter points en route to a career-high 25-point day, and the Warhawks rolled to a season-opening 85-42 win over Louisiana College on Friday morning.
“That’s a good way to start the season,” head coach Jeff Dow said. “One thing I challenged them with at halftime was to come out in the second half and play as if the score was 0-0. We were able to work on several different things defensively with zone and man-to-man.”
The contest was the first leg of a men’s and women’s doubleheader for Kids’ Day at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Students from seven schools in the Monroe area came to watch the teams and get autographs while the other squad was on the floor.
Hunter had 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the first quarter. ULM held a 10-0 run over 5:14 in that period to take a 14-2 lead and followed it up with another 7-0 run to lead 23-8 at the first break.
She did it all in front of her family, who drove in from Killeen, Texas throughout the night to continue the tradition of watching the team’s home opener.
“What my dad had me work on in the summer was free-throws, for one, and finishing when I get to the basket,” she said. “I feel like that was my big problem before. I was always trying to fade away or something. Now I’m getting to the basket and trying to get some and-ones or finish the shot.”
The second half started as more of the same for the Warhawks, who outscored the Lady Wildcats 28-4 after holding a 16-9 advantage in the second quarter. Hunter returned to action with eight consecutive points to begin the frame. Chelsea Tieuel then made a big entrance to the season by draining her first two three-point attempts to create the 17-2 opening run.
Louisiana College’s 25.9 field goal percentage was the lowest allowed by the Warhawks since a Feb. 26 win at South Alabama (22.6 percent). The last meeting between the schools saw ULM win 92-52 in the 2013-14 home opener.
Every Warhawk that played scored on the day, with Daja Chase (11) and Andreanna Jackson (10) backing Hunter up. Lauren Marker, whose layup with 35 seconds left finished out the ULM scoring, had a game-high four steals in her first collegiate action.
“I thought we did a great job...a big point of emphasis in the scouting report was to pound them inside,” Dow said. “Alayshia was 11-13 from the field for 25 points, just an outstanding job. Also, anytime you have a positive assist-turnover ratio is solid.”
ULM had a 50-10 margin in paint points with 13 turnovers against 20 assists.
The Warhawks will head south for their next action, a Sunday 3 p.m. tilt at LSU. The game will air online via SEC Network Plus.
Georgia State Bests Kennesaw, 66-62
KENNESAW, GA – Georgia State opened the 2015-16 women’s basketball season with a 66-62 win Friday at Kennesaw State. The visiting Panthers got down by 16 points at 31-15 in the second quarter, but came back strong and led most of the second half.
Sophomore Makeba Ponder scored 19 points to lead GSU, then made the deciding play with a steal with 9.5 seconds and two free throws. Freshman point guard Madison Newby added 10 points, while junior transfer forward produced 10 rebounds.
“With nine new players, I have noticed they really play to win and they showed that tonight,” coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener said. “This group seems to look to find a way to get things done. Even when they get down like they did tonight, they have confidence in themselves to come back. We missed so many early shots that I think that affected our defense, but we calmed down and got going.”
After GSU got down 31-15 at 5:53, the Panthers did not allow the Owls a point the rest of the half and the 13-0 run made it 31-28 at halftime.
Down the stretch, GSU broke from the last tie at 54 with 5:52 on a hook in the paint from Kennesha Nichols. Freshman Kierra Henry made a free throw at 4:12 and then a drive at 3:20 to open a 59-54 lead. After a basket by KSU, Tatianna Jackson drained a 3-point basket to make it 62-56 with 2:57.
GSU danced on the tightrope by missing free throws all evening (13 of 25) and two big missed by Ponder at 25.1 seconds (64-62) gave KSU a chance to tie. But Ponder made the steal above the top of the key and was fouled. This time, she calmly sank two.
Doing the math from the 31-16 deficit, GSU outscored the Owls 50-31 the rest of the way, even with the poor free throw shooting. KSU started the game 6 of 9 from the field and then 9 of 14 with three 3-point baskets, but finished 12 of 36 from the field the rest of the way.
Georgia State held a 37-32 rebound advantage, thanks to 15 offensive rebounds. GSU forced 15 Kennesaw turnovers and made eight steals.
GSU goes back on the road to play at Tennessee Tech on Thursday.
Pratt's Double-Double Not Enough as Trojans Fall to Tulane
NEW ORLEANS, La. – Kaitlyn Pratt recorded a double-double in front of her hometown family and friends, but it was not enough for the Little Rock women's basketball team in a 69-53 loss to Tulane at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse on Friday night.
Pratt scored 15 points and added 10 rebounds for her third career double-double. She now has one double-double in each of her three seasons with the team.
Turnovers and foul trouble plagued the Trojans all evening in their season opener, and they were unable to put up enough offense to keep up with the Green Wave. Little Rock coughed the ball up 17 times, and Tulane capitalized with 19 points off those turnovers.
Starting guard Alexius Dawn had three fouls in the first quarter and played just five minutes in the first half, and by halftime she was joined by Pratt and Monique Townson in having three fouls. Pratt and Shanity James would eventually foul out, and the team's three other starters had 10 fouls between them.
The Green Wave finished the game shooting 46 percent from the field, and the team outscored the Trojans in each of the first three quarters.
James finished the game with double-figure scoring, recording 14 points while pulling down six boards before fouling out. Townson was one point short of tying her career high with 8, and Dawn picked up 7 points on two 3-pointers and a free throw.
Little Rock used 10 different players on the night as Kira Shepard, Raeyana DeGray, Ronjanae DeGray and Autummn Williams came off the bench to see their first minutes with the Trojans. Shepard put up 2 points and tallied a team-best three assists. Ronjanae scored four points in the fourth quarter and grabbed three rebounds, while Raeyana DeGray and Williams had a rebound each.
Little Rock looked like a young team in the first quarter, scoring just four points on a jumper from Pratt and a layup by Shepard. The team held a 4-3 lead before the Green Wave took over for the rest of the quarter.
Tulane went on a 12-0 run to close out the frame, forcing seven total turnovers from the Trojans and keeping them to only 18.2 percent shooting from the field. Tulane didn't make a field goal until 2:30 remained in the period, but that was their first of four field goals plus two free throws in the last two minutes to take a 15-4 lead at the end of the quarter.
Little Rock fared better in the second quarter, putting up 19 points. But the Green Wave attack increased its output as well, and the home team extended its lead to 38-23 at the break. Tulane had two 4-point plays in the half, and the Trojans committed four more turnovers in the second quarter. Their 11 first-half turnovers resulted in 14 Green Wave points.
The third quarter was very similar to the first, as neither offense got going for the first part of the period and the Trojans had five turnovers. Little Rock scored just two points in the first six minutes before a Pratt layup broke the field goal drought. Tulane's offense struggled as well in the period, putting up 12 points. But the Green Wave still extended their lead to 18 points, 50-32, at the third quarter's conclusion.
The fourth quarter saw the Trojans outscore Tulane for the first time all night, but the narrow 21-19 edge Little Rock gained was not enough to make up the deficit. Ronjanae DeGray scored all four of her points in the quarter and Pratt cemented her double-double in the period's early going.
During the game, James attempted her 400th career free throw, Pratt scored her 350th career point and Dawn tied for ninth all-time at Little Rock in made 3-pointers.
Little Rock returns to The Natural State on Wednesday for its home opener against LSU. The Trojans and Tigers are set for a 7:15 p.m. tipoff.
Mountaineers Fall Short Against Liberty
Boone, N.C. - Appalachian State University women’s basketball put forth a valiant effort against a tough Liberty squad, but fell short 74-68 at the Holmes Center Friday morning.
App State Starters: #2 Farrahn Wood, #10 Joi Jones, #30 Ashley Bassett-Smith, #34 Madi Story, #42 Mia Marshall
Liberty Starters: #3 Sadalia Ellis, #10 Jaymee Fisher-Davis, #21 Mikal Johnson, #44 Catherine Kearney, #55 Ashley Rininger
A cold-shooting performance doomed the Black and Gold, struggling from the floor going 32.8 percent from the field as opposed to the Flames’ 44.4 percent shooting clip. Jones paced the offense with a team-high 18 points on eight buckets and dished out five assists.
Katelyn Doub spearheaded a solid performance from the bench that scored 33 points, turning in a career-high 13 points that saw some big shots during the day.. Kaila Craven and Madi Story both added to the mix with nine points, and Bria Carter chipped in with seven of her own . KeKe Cooper battled all night down low against one of the tallest teams App State will play this season, as she grabbed eight boards, five of which were on the offensive end.
The Apps and Flames stayed close throughout the first quarter with neither team taking a lead by more than four points. Following a Story trifecta that gave the Apps a 19-17 lead, Liberty’s Sadalia Ellis came down to a hit a trey at the buzzer to regain the lead, 20-19.
Ellis’ 3-pointer trickled an 11-0 run going into the second frame that put the Flames up, 28-19. But the Apps had a run of their own late in the second with a 10-3 run over the final 4:12 of the first half, cutting the deficit to six, 40-34. Wood and Doub sparked the run with consecutive threes.
Doub and Craven scored seven apiece to lead Appalachian going into the locker room. The Apps committed five of their seven turnovers in the first half, while forcing the Flames into 11 turnovers.
Coming out of the third quarter, when it looked like the Flames would go on a run, the Apps would stay right on their tail. After falling to an eight-point deficit (45-37), Doub came up big with back-to-back treys to bring Appalachian to three, 46-43. Liberty would stretch the lead to seven to go into the final quarter, 54-47.
When it looked like App was ready to take over, the Flames came up with big shots. After Carter hit a jump shot to cut the lead to one possession, 56-53, Liberty came back down for a layup to push the lead back to five. Later in the contest when Liberty stretched the lead to seven, a quick four points from Story and Cooper dwindled the lead back to a possession. However, the defending Big South Champions drained a pivotal three that would prevent App State from cutting it back to one possession.
The Apps will have a turnaround two days later as they hit the road for the first time this season to square off against Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Bobcats Fall to No. 13 Texas A&M
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The size of the No. 13 Texas A&M Aggies proved to be too much Friday evening as the Texas State women's basketball team fell in the season opener by a score of 87-50. The defeat marks the first loss in a season opener since head coach Zenarae Antoine has been at the helm of the Bobcat program.
With ball handling struggles early on the in the contest, the Bobcats collected themselves and outscored the Aggies, 18-16, in the final 10 minutes of play with Aggie starters remaining in the game. The Bobcats shot 7-for-11 from the field in the fourth quarter and a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.
"What I appreciate about the game is that the team was able to step up there toward the end and show poise," stated Antoine. "One thing I was clear about going into the fourth quarter is to win the next quarter and continue to go with our principles of what we've been preaching."
Texas A&M took an early lead over the Bobcats and capitalized on Texas State turnovers throughout the evening. In the first half, Texas State recorded 16 turnovers of which the Aggies converted into 16 points. Texas State improved in the second half of play with just eight turnovers, seven of which were in the third quarter.
Two freshman, Toshua Leavitt and Devin Gray, had impactful games for their first collegiate contests as combined they made four of the Bobcats eight made three-pointers. Leavitt finished the game with six points, three boards, three assists and just one turnover. Gray came in in the fourth quarter and in just nine minutes of play, the Wellington, Fla. native went 2-for-3 from the floor and a perfect 2-for-2 from long range.
Taeler Deer and Kaitlin Walla led the Bobcats Friday evening with seven points apiece. Walla, in her first game back since December 2014, went 3-for-7 from the floor with three rebounds in 20 minutes of play.
Freshman Kiani Lurry and sophomore Ericka May led Texas State with six boards apiece.
Texas A&M outrebounded the Bobcats, 48-36, and finished the game with 50 points in the paint. Texas State held the Aggies to just three made three's all contest of which all belonged to freshman Danni Williams.
The Bobcats will now return to Strahan Coliseum for a Sunday afternoon match-up against Division II foe St. Edwards.
Mavericks Suffer Defeat at the Hands of No. 5 Baylor
ARLINGTON, Texas – Nerves got the best of the UT Arlington women's basketball team in its season opener against No. 5 Baylor in Waco Friday night. The Lady Mavericks lost 62-20 in the opening game of the 2015 Preseason WNIT.
The Lady Mavericks are now 19-24 in season openers and 7-17 in first games on the road. The meeting was UTA and Baylor's first since 2001-02. The Bears lead the series 18-3 with the Lady Mavs' last win coming in 1988. UTA still remains winless in Waco.
The Lady Mavs and Bears played their first game according to the new NCAA's rules that were set into effect over the summer. The game's biggest change implemented four, 10-minute quarters instead of two 20-minute halves. The rule changes also gave teams two bonus shots on the fifth foul with fouls resetting at the start of each quarter.
Freshman Rebekah VanDijk recorded UTA's first points of the season with a jump shot, while Baylor kept an early 6-2 lead with 6:15 to go in the first quarter. The Bears' athletic builds made it difficult for the Mavs to maneuver around the perimeter, but sophomore Cierra Johnson forced a steal with her aggressive defense.
VanDijk and senior Toma Zaleckaite scored the Lady Mavericks' four second quarter points while the team's defense kept the Bears to 38.7 percent from the field. UTA held Baylor to nine points in the quarter compared to 21 in the first.
The Mavs' trailed at the break 30-6, besting their lowest scoring half since in program history when the team earned 11 against Texas in 2004 – UTA had just one point in the second quarter.
Junior Kamy Cole opened the third with a layup to bring UTA's point total to eight. The Lady Mavericks settled into a more stable defense and kept the Bears to two baskets, while VanDjik and Zaleckaite scored back-to-back shots with more than five minutes on the clock. Senior Amara Wainright scored the Mavs' lone 3-pointer of the night with 2:42 to go in the final quarter, preventing UTA's 28th game without a trey.