Friday, November 27
Cajuns Finish Off Arkansas with Late Comeback Win
GUAYNABO, PR – Trailing 55-46 in the fourth quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team rode a 21-4 scoring wave to pick up their second win over an SEC opponent in the last 12 days by a 67-59 final at the San Juan Shootout.
The victories over Ole Miss in the regular season opener and Friday afternoon against Arkansas were the first pair of wins over SEC opponents in the same season in program history.
"We are capable of doing some things on the defensive side with pressure to create steals in order to generate some offense," Ragin' Cajuns head coach Garry Brodhead said. "I was confident that we could come back. Our defense really came up big with steals that led to layups to help us get back in the game."
Junior guard Jaylyn Gordon scored five points in the first 5:16 of the game, keeping the Cajuns (3-1) to within 11-9 of the Razorbacks.
At the close of the first quarter, the score stood at 17-14 in favor of Arkansas. Gordon paced the Cajuns with five points in the first stanza, while sophomore Simone Fields added four points in the first 10 minutes.
With just over 4 ½ minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Cajuns trailed, 21-19, shooting a respectable 36.8% (7-of-19) from the floor.
Trailing 27-26 with under five seconds remaining in the first half, senior guard Keke Veal knocked down a three-pointer to give the Cajuns a two-point lead going into the intermission. Veal netted a team-high 10 first half points.
In the third quarter, Louisiana maintained that lead up 38-34 with just over 4 ½ minutes on the clock. However, Arkansas stormed back on a 16-8 run to take a 50-46 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
The Razorbacks built a 55-48 lead with less than six minutes to play, but Veal and Wilridge hit back-to-back buckets to make it a one-possession game at 55-52 with 5:37 remaining.
Down by a single point, freshman Jordan Alexander sank the go-ahead jumper to give the Cajuns a 56-55 lead.
On the next possession by Arkansas, Fields came up with a steal and hit Veal in transition who delivered an assist to Wilridge leading to a layup to increase the Louisiana lead by three points.
The Razorbacks were unable to claw any closer than the three-point lead the Cajuns offense rallied to create.
"To me it's a big win, especially when you can get an SEC win away from home especially two in one season," Brodhead said. "We wanted to come out and play as hard as we could, which is our forte.
"I was really proud," he added. "We had some kids come off the bench and play hard and knock down some free throws at the end. We want to continue to work towards the conference schedule in January."
The Ragin' Cajuns are back in action tomorrow to play Sacred Heart at 1:30 p.m. CST to conclude the San Juan Shootout.
Little Rock Tops Memphis on Friday Night
LITTLE ROCK – Shanity James eclipsed 20 points for the second consecutive game and the Little Rock women's basketball team held on for a 61-53 victory over Memphis at the Jack Stephens Center on Friday night.
The Trojans (2-2) trailed by 4 points midway through the third quarter before going on an 11-0 run that catapulted them into a lead they would never lose.
The Tigers (3-2) made things interesting by pulling within 4 points with 3:33 left in the game, but a quick jumper by James and a Sharde' Collins 3-pointer brought the Little Rock lead back up to 9 points with 1:10 to play to seal the win.
James finished with 22 points, and that number would have been a career high before she scored 24 at Oral Roberts on Tuesday evening. She was 7 of 9 from the field for 14 points in the first half, and both of those misses were desperation 3-pointers as time was expiring on the game or shot clock. She finished 10 of 16 from the field and just missed her second consecutive double-double with a team-high eight rebounds.
Dawn also scored in double figures for the second straight game, tallying 12 points thanks to three made 3-pointers and three free throws. Collins was the final Trojan in double-figure scoring, reaching 10 points.
Monique Townson and Collins had a team-high five assists apiece, and Dawn added three steals. James also had four assists and the Trojans' only block on the night.
The victory was Little Rock's second consecutive this season and fourth consecutive against Memphis dating back to 2012.
The start of Friday's game was played at a slightly higher offensive tempo than Little Rock had seen this season. The teams combined for 15 points before the first media timeout, and that total could have been higher if the Trojans had not missed two fast-break layups. James started the night 2 for 2 from the field in the first five minutes, and would make her third straight basket right after the timeout to cut Memphis' lead to just 9-8.
But the Tigers continued to shoot well throughout the quarter, going 50 percent from the field and taking a 15-13 lead into the second quarter. A late 3-pointer by Townson – the Trojans' first made in six attempts – made it just a 2-point Memphis lead.
Little Rock took over to start the second quarter, and James' inside presence was a huge reason why. The senior made every 2-point shot she took in the first half, finishing the half 7 of 9 from the field.
James' offense helped Little Rock take a 28-22 lead – its largest of the game to that point – and things looked very positive for the team with three minutes left in the quarter. But that's when the offense dried up and Memphis came back. The Tigers closed the half with 6 consecutive points and tied things at 28-28.
The third quarter slogged along for the early portion as neither team could score until three minutes had gone by. Memphis led by as many as 4 points at 36-32 before Little Rock turned things around with its second huge third-quarter run in as many games.
The Trojans went from trailing by 4 points to leading by 7 thanks to an 11-0 run that included a James layup, a Collins jumper, a Dawn 3-pointer, a Keys jumper and two Shepard free throws to make it a 43-36 Little Rock lead. A buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Memphis' Ariel Hearn to end the quarter stopped the bleeding, but the Trojans still went into the final break with a 4-point lead.
Little Rock was coming off Tuesday's game at Oral Roberts that saw it use a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take over and put away the Golden Eagles.
In the fourth quarter, the Trojans began raining 3-pointers after a Keys jumper, as Collins and Dawn hit one apiece to give the team a game-best 12-point lead at 51-39 with 6:46 to play. Memphis would score 10 of the next 12 points, though, to bring it down to a 53-49 lead before Little Rock pulled away for good.
At the end of the night, the Trojans shot 43.6 percent from the field and forced 19 Memphis turnovers that resulted in 20 Little Rock points.
The team used just seven players total with only Collins and Kaitlyn Pratt coming off the bench. Every player saw at least 18 minutes of action.
During the game, Collins earned the 50th assist of her career, and James took sole possession of sixth all-time on the Trojan block list with her 73rd.
The Trojans are back on the road next week, taking on No. 22 Oklahoma in the Sooners' building. Game time is set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
App State Falls to Hot Shooting South Dakota
BOCA RATON, Fla. - Junior guard Joi Jones (Duluth, Ga./Duluth) tied a season-high with 18 points, but it wasn’t enough as Appalachian State University women’s basketball fell, 87-60, to a tough South Dakota squad in the opening round of the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament. App State will square off against Delaware State in the third-place game at 12 p.m. on Saturday in FAU Arena.
South Dakota Starters: #4 Tia Hemiller, #5 Jasmine Trimboli, #15 Kelly Stewart, #33 Caitlin Duffy, #35 Nicole Seekamp
Appalachian State Starters: #2 Farrahn Wood (Kersnersville, N.C./Forsyth Country Day), #10 Joi Jones (Duluth, Ga./Duluth), #23 KeKe Cooper (Spartaburg, S.C./Dorman), #34 Madi Story (Bandys/Maiden, N.C.), #42 Mia Marshall (Lilburn, Ga./Lilburn)
Jones scored in doubles for the third time in the first four games after converting on five buckets and shooting 8-for-10 from the free throw line. Bassett-Smith notched a season-high 11 points, including a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe and a tied a career-best with seven boards.
Jasmine Ogunjimi (Chicago, Illinois/Hutchinson CC) and Kaila Craven (Asheboro, N.C./Southwest Randolph) both came off the bench to round out the leading scorers with eight and seven points, respectively. The duo came off the bench to combine for 6-of-8 shooting from the field to lead the bench with 15 points total en route to the reserves scoring 34 of the team’s points.
Going up against a squad that came into the game averaging 10 3-pointers per game and shooting 42.1 percent from outside the arc, the Coyotes hit their season mark with 10 treys on a 45.2 shooting clip while shooting 54.1 percent from the field. This was key as App State failed to convert on a 3-pointer and shot just 31.7 percent.
Appalachian did out shoot USD at the charity stripe, 26-18,converting on 20 free throws, won the turnover battle 20-18, and held a plus-six advantage in offensive rebounding,15-9. Defensively, Appalachian was able to hold Nicole Seekamp to six points and four assists after the USD guard went into the contest averaging 18 points and 11 assists. Four other players took on the scoring load in the game putting up double figures to lead the Coyotes.
South Dakota jumped out to a 10-2 advantage in the opening quarter, and the lead would balloon to 11, 20-9, with 1:29 left in the first quarter. The Apps fought back with a 9-0 spurt that stretched over into the second quarter. Craven scored the final five points of the first frame that trimmed the lead to six, 20-14.
Coming out in the second quarter, Appalachian scored on a pair of jumpers from Wood and Cooper that pushed the Apps to within one possession, 20-18. The Black and Gold defense forced USD to miss its next five shots and a 3:04 scoring drought during the spark. With the momentum turning to App State’s favor, South Dakota stopped the run with a trey that started a 22-4 run over the final 8:24 of the half to take a commanding 42-22 lead.
Jones, Craven and Bassett-Smith led the offense with 14 of the team’s 22 points going into the locker room.
USD kept the foot on the gas pedal never allowing App State to chip into the lead or threaten to gain any momentum. On multiple occasions, App State would score on back-to-back possessions but the Coyotes scored in flurries to prevent App State putting together a significant run.
App State shot much better in the second half (44.0-23.7) and was 16-for-19 from the charity stripe. Jones scored 13 of her points in the stanza with Ogunjimi tallying all of her points in the second half as well.
For App State, it was the third opponent in the first four games of the contest that went to the postseason in 2014-15, further proving the difficulty of the non-conference schedule.
Julia Buehler (Wilmington, N.C./John T. Hoggard) and Elizabeth Norregaard (Middleton, Wisc./Middleton) both saw action in the game. Buehler converted on a pair of free throws in the fourth quarter to score her first points as a Mountaineer.
Texas State Drops Contest to Idaho in Cancun
CANCUN, Mexico – The Texas State women’s basketball team fell Friday morning to Idaho by a score of 75-55 at the Cancun Challenge at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya. The ‘Cats are now 2-3 on the year and 0-2 at the tournament.
Freshman Toshua Leavitt led the ‘Cats Friday afternoon by scoring a team-high 14 points with four made three’s, marking both the first double-digit game of her career as well as the most three’s she has made in a game this year.
Idaho jumped out of the gates early against the ‘Cats by taking an 18-9 lead after the first. Texas State and Idaho were tied at 4-4 with 6:12 to play in the first before 10 straight points by Idaho put the separation between the squads.
Texas State fought back in the second, especially in the final four minutes before intermission. With Idaho up 11 with 4:09 to play, the Bobcats put together an 11-1 run to come within one of the Vandals at half. The Texas State run was highlighted by a three by freshman Toshua Leavitt as well as a pair of free throws by Ayriel Anderson and baskets from Kiani Lurry and Raven Burns.
Idaho retaliated in the beginning of the third by going on a quick 6-0 run with back-to-back three’s. The Vandals would extend their lead to as many as 13 with 3:21 left in the third and would go into the fourth up 12 over Texas State.
The Vandals continued to build upon their lead in the fourth, despite the efforts of the Bobcats. Ultimately in the fourth, Idaho outscored Texas State 24-16.
Texas State recorded just nine turnovers in the contest while forcing 19 for the Vandals. The Bobcats shot just 30.4 percent from the floor while making six three’s, four of which belonged to Leavitt. The Texas State bench outscored Idaho 29-13.
Texas State will conclude the Cancun Challenge tomorrow afternoon at 12:30 p.m. CT against No. 12 Duke at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya. Live stats and live streaming will be available at www.txstatebobcats.com.