Saturday, November 21
A-State Wins Home Opener over Wichita State
JONESBORO, Ark. (11/21/15) – The Arkansas State women’s basketball team claimed a 67-40 victory over Wichita State in its 2015-16 home opener Saturday night at the Convocation Center, running its overall record to 3-0 for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
The Red Wolves improved to 15-2 all-time in home openers under head coach Brian Boyer, who claimed his 275th career victory in the process. A-State picked up a win in its home opener for the third consecutive year and is now undefeated through three games for the eighth time in school history.
The Red Wolves were led by three players scoring in double figures, including senior guard Jessica Flanery with a game-high 14 points. Senior’s Amanda Lawson and Aundrea Gamble added 12 points each for A-State, while Khadija Brown-Haywood led the team on the boards with a season-tying eight rebounds.
A-State raced out to a 12-2 advantage six minutes into the game before Wichita State closed the first quarter on an 8-2 run to pull within 14-10. The Shockers continued their surge by scoring the first three points of the second quarter to pull within one, but A-State responded with a 6-0 run to go up 20-13 with 8:13 left in the half. Taking advantage of 17 Wichita State turnovers in the first half, the Red Wolves carried a 28-18 lead into the intermission.
There were a few key things that we wanted to do defensively and I thought our players did an excellent job of executing that,” Boyer said. “When you look at that stretch in the second and third quarter where they scored 14 points in about 20 minutes. Offensively I thought we were just good enough. They switched a lot against and their size at times was an issue and we missed some opportunities, but even in the stretches where we played bad offensively the defense continued to be good.”
A-State was able to extend its lead to 41-20 five minutes into the second half and outscored the Shockers 17-6 in the third period to take a commanding 45-24 lead. The Red Wolves built their lead to as much as 28 points two different times in the fourth period.
A-State limited Wichita State to a .373 field goal percentage and its 40 points allowed were the fewest by an opponent since Alabama A&M scored 38 during the 2005-06 season. The Red Wolves recorded at least 10 steals for the third consecutive game and turned 24 turnovers by the Shockers into 30 points.
A-State posted a .450 shooting percentage and finished the contest with a 39-28 advantage on the boards. In addition to her 12 points, Gamble was responsible for a season-high seven assists and four rebounds. Flanery ended the game with five rebounds and three assists.
Wichita State, which didn’t have a single player score in double figures, was led by Brittany Martin with eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Red Wolves return to action Wednesday, Nov. 25, with a 6:30 p.m. game at Chattanooga. Their next home game is set for Monday, Dec. 12, against Alcorn State at 5:05 p.m.
Georgia State Falls to Morehead State in Shootout
ATLANTA – In an up-tempo shoot-out, Morehead State raced to a 99-90 win over Georgia State in the GSU Sports Arena Saturday night.
The home opener saw the Panthers fire up 87 shots to 75 by Morehead (162 shots), with 24 free throws by Morehead and 13 by GSU (37 total). But, Morehead make 11 of 23 3-point baskets (47.8%) and shot 46.7 percent for the game. GSU was just 8 of 30 outside the 3-point arc and shot 41.4 percent overall.
Visiting Morehead (2-2) also held a 53-39 rebound advantage. Morehead has scored 121 points and 101 points already this season with their frenetic style.
“We played pretty well overall with effort and there were plenty of positives,” head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener said. “But, the big difference in tonight’s game was Morehead’s ability to get second and third shots on us, I think. And, they made some 3-pointers when they needed them. Defensively, we forced 25 turnovers and made 15 steals so there was energy there.”
Georgia State (1-2) had four players in double figures and two more with nine points. Junior Morgan Jackson and freshman Madison Newby each scored 12 points, while sophomore Makeba Ponder and junior Alaysia Mitchell each netted 11 points. Freshman Astaja Tyghter added nine points, nine rebounds and five steals, while freshman KK Williams contributed nine points and five rebounds.
The game had 15 lead changes and nine ties. GSU led 24-22 at the end of the first quarter, then Morehead went into halftime with a 48-42 lead. The big run came in the third quarter and the game tied at 59 with 5:40 on the clock. Morehead went on a 16-2 run to make it 76-61 and led 78-66 at the end of three quarters. GSU didn’t get it back to single digits until 96-88 with 2:03 left to play.
Morehead redshirt senior Natalie Greenwell was on fire with 26 points on 9 of 13 shooting that included 6-of-8 3-point baskets. Junior Aaliyah Wells poured in 21 more points, while Miranda Crockett redshirt freshman Miranda Crockett supplied a double-double game of 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Georgia State heads to Alabama Tuesday, then comes back home to host its Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 28.
Resilient Defense Leads Texas State to 64-62 Victory Over North Texas
SAN MARCOS, Texas – A career-high 32 points by sophomore Taeler Deer as well as 25 forced turnovers by the Texas State defense led the women’s basketball team to a 64-62 victory over North Texas Saturday afternoon at Strahan Coliseum. The win improves Texas State to 2-1 on the year.
North Texas was coming into the game after defeating No. 17 Oklahoma on the road earlier in the week.
Along with her 32 points, Deer tallied a team-high three steals as well as one of the team’s three blocks. She finished the afternoon going 12-for-20 from the floor and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.
The ‘Cats quickly found themselves in a seven-point hole early in the contest, but a 14-8 run including a jumper by Ti’Aira Pitts to cap off the first quarter put the Bobcats up 21-20 over North Texas. Deer jumped out of the gates in the first with a floor-high 10 points.
Texas State’s lead and momentum continued to grow in the second quarter over the Mean Green. With 2:15 left before intermission, freshman Kiani Lurry nailed a three-pointer off the back board to put the ‘Cats up seven. On the next possession, Toshua Leavitt hit another Bobcat three to put Texas State up 10 with 1:44 on the clock. The Mean Green would score before the end of the half, but the Bobcats used all of the second quarter to build momentum and drive over North Texas.
Out of the break, North Texas came clawing back by producing an 8-2 run to cut the Texas State lead to two. With 5:26 to play in the third, a lay-up by Bria Frierson tied up the contest for the first time since the first quarter.
Texas State bounced back to go back up six with 2:47 on the clock after a jumper by Deer. Another North Texas run to close out the third had Texas State up one with 10 minutes to play.
With 9:11 left in the game, North Texas regained for the first time since the final seconds of the first quarter. That lead, for North Texas, grew to as many as seven before the Bobcats rallied once again.
A 9-2 run as well as four forced turnovers in just four minutes of play by Texas State gave the Bobcats a push to regain the lead over North Texas. With 1:11 left in regulation, the ball game was tied up at 62-62. With six seconds to play, Deer made her final mark on the contest with a lay-up through traffic to give Texas State the final lead of the day.
North Texas called a timeout to advance the ball, but resilient defense by the Bobcats as well as a forced turnover with time expiring granted Texas State the crucial victory at Strahan Coliseum.
Lurry finished the night with a career-high 10 points and Ericka May led the Bobcats with six rebounds. The ‘Cats shot a season-high 45.5 percent from the floor and finished the game making eight of their 10 shots from the charity stripe. Along with Deer, May also recorded three steals for Texas State.
The ‘Cats will now travel to Cancun, Mexico for the Cancun Challenge where they will take on Iowa State, Idaho, and Duke from November 26-28. Live stats as well as a live stream will be available at www.txstatebobcats.com.
Holly's Double-Double Not Enough as UTA Falls to McNeese
ARLINGTON, Texas - McNeese State outscored UT Arlington 36-20 in the second half to help the Cowgirls complete a 63-57 win at College Park Center on Saturday.
UTA (1-2) shot just 30.8 percent in the second half on 8-26 shooting, while McNeese State (2-1) shot at a 52.4 percent clip. The Lady Mavs, having completed play in the Preseason WNIT, continue their homestand on Tuesday night when they host Seton Hall at 7 p.m.
The Lady Mavericks clinged to a one-point advantage with under a minute to play in the game. However, McNeese State scored the final six points of the game, including a rainbow 3-pointer with 44 seconds remaining. UTA was unable to respond and McNeese knocked down four free throws to ice the game.
Morgan Holly turned in UTA's first double-double of the season, completing the task early in the third quarter. Holly finished with a team-high 12 rebounds and had 10 points. The double-double was UTA's first from a player outside of Rebekah VanDijk in the last two seasons.
Turning point:
Following Cierra Johnson's steal and put back with 55 seconds left to give UTA the lead, McNeese State dropped a corner three to put itself on top for the remainder.
Key Stats:
Johnson and Kamy Cole each joined Holly in double-digit scoring. Johnson had a team-high 12 points, while Cole had 11, including 6-6 shooting from the line. The Lady Mavs led for more than 32 minutes in the contest before relinquishing the lead late in the fourth. McNeese State's Jayln Johnson had a game-high 17 points, 10 coming in the second half.
Notable:
UTA lost its third consecutive to McNeese State (first meeting since 2012). UTA holds a 35-21 advantage in the all-time series. UTA used its third different lineup in as many games. The Lady Mavs did not change their lineup over the final 10 games to end 2014-15.
Up next:
UT Arlington continues its four-game homestand when it welcomes defending Big East champion Seton Hall to College Park Center on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at www.UTATickets.com.