Wednesday, December 16
Gamble's 28 Leads A-State to Victory
JONESBORO, Ark. (12/16/15) – Senior guard Aundrea Gamble scored a season-high 28 points to lead Arkansas State to a 66-55 victory over Austin Peay in front of a crowd of 2,837 Wednesday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
A-State led by three at halftime, but Gamble scored 14 points in the third quarter as the Red Wolves outscored the Lady Govs 21-12 to extend the lead to 53-41. Austin Peay got within one after Madison Rich drained a 3-pointer with 6:13 to go in the period, but A-State responded with a 12-0 to push the lead back to double-figures.
Gamble and Khadija Brown-Haywood, who finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, each hit ‘3s’ as the Red Wolves swung momentum back in their favor.
Gamble, who scored 20 points in the second half, found success by getting into the paint and posting up against defenders who she was able to beat off a dribble or draw a foul against. She went 3-of-4 from the foul line in the third quarter as A-State extended its lead.
Arkansas State held its largest lead a 59-43 after a layup by Gamble with 4:07 to go in the game, but the Lady Govs drained a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch cut the deficit to 11 with 50 seconds go. Amanda Lawson helped put the game away with a jumper in the with 30 seconds to go before Austin Peay hit a pair of free throw to set the final.
Lawson also finished in double-figures with 11 points and added four rebounds and three blocks.
“I’m proud of the team and how hard we played,” A-State head coach Brian Boyer said. “It seemed like we were really close to pulling away a few times, but it has been a longtime since this group has had a game where everything that could go wrong, went wrong. It seemed like we had a lot shots go halfway in and rim out and it just seemed like we were unlucky at times.”
A-State got off to a rough start and fell behind 16-12 after the first quarter thanks to a 5-of-16 start from the field, but was helped out by a strong defensive effort. The Lady Govs committed five turnovers in the opening period and finished with 23 miscues on the afternoon. The Red Wolves also collected 12 steals to extend their streak of games with double-digit steals to eight straight.
“We played hard, but we just weren’t very smooth today,” Boyer said. “We were getting great shots early on and to their credit they were very patient on offense and made us defend for 20 to 25 seconds.”
With the win, Arkansas State has now won 14 consecutive games on its home floor, the ninth longest streak in the nation.
The Red Wolves will their final non-conference match of the year Monday, Dec. 22 at Nebraska. Fans can listen to the game on 95.3FM The Ticket or online at AStateRedWolves.com.
Texas State Holds Off Late Rally by HBU
HOUSTON – In a fast pace, back-and-forth affair in the small confines of Sharp Gym, the Texas State women's basketball team defeated Houston Baptist on the road by a score of 71-66 Wednesday evening. Kaitlin Walla continued to be an offensive threat for Texas State as she tallied a floor-high 21 points for the victorious Bobcats.
How It Happened:
Ten lead changes through the first 20 minutes of play set the tone against the Huskies. Just as one team would take a multi-possession lead, its opponent would answer back. Neither team had any larger than a five-point advantage in the first half of play.
Down two in the closing seconds of the second quarter, freshman Kiani Lurry stripped Meghan Shank of the ball and went down to score with a second on the clock to tie the game up at 32-all.
The third period, which started in favor of the Huskies with a 7-2 run, proved to be the first time that Texas State would begin to take control of the ball game. With the Huskies up five with 6:10 to play in the third, Texas State rallied together an 18-5 run to close out the third quarter. Taeler Deer, who had not scored at all in the first half, strung together six points including four at the line to help propel the 'Cats into its game-changing run.
The Huskies came back with vengeance in the fourth, stringing together a run of their own. Texas State built its lead up to as many as 13, but a 12-0 run by Houston Baptist capped by a pair of free throws by Anna Strickland with 2:28 left in the game quickly saw the dynamic of the game change.
Tied up at 62-62 with 1:35 on the clock, Texas State stepped up on defense while forcing Houston Baptist to commit fouls on when Texas State was on offense. The combo of Ayriel Anderson and Kaitlin Walla made the final eight free throws to give Texas State the edge it needed to earn its fifth victory of the season.
The 'Cats once again shot well from beyond the arc, draining eight of them at a clip of 57.1 percent. Raven Burns helped contribute to the three-point shooting as she went 2-for-2 for Texas State.
Hunter's 28 Not Enough as ULM Falls to McNeese
LAKE CHARLES, La. – Alayshia Hunter scored 28 points on 11-of-14 shooting and pulled down a season-high 13 rebounds, but ULM lost a hard-fought 72-62 contest at McNeese State Wednesday night in Burton Coliseum.
The ULM defense stood tall to end the third quarter, as McNeese came up empty on three consecutive chances on its side of the court. After Andreanna Jackson drew a foul as she went for a loose ball with three seconds left, Chelsea Tieuel hit a three-pointer from well beyond the line at the buzzer. ULM trailed just 50-47 after that period.
Jackson’s three-pointer on the first shot of the fourth quarter gave ULM its first tie of the game. The Cowgirls ended the game with a 12-4 run over the final 3:18.
McNeese State (7-3) shot 57.9 percent (11-for-19) from the field the first 12 minutes of the game, leading 23-16 at that point.
Andreanna Jackson had consecutive outstanding possessions midway through the second quarter to get the Warhawks to within a 27-23 margin. She nailed a three-pointer along the baseline and then forced the ball-handler out-of-bounds on the other end, setting up an Alayshia Hunter jumper.
The Cowgirls got their biggest lead of the game on consecutive three-pointers that upped their lead to 37-23 with 3:27 to play in the first half.
The Warhawks (5-4) stepped it up defensively late in the first half, forcing McNeese into seven misses on its final eight attempts. ULM ended with an 8-2 run, capped off Alayshia Hunter’s 16th point of the night.
ULM will look to avenge the defeat on Saturday when LSU-Alexandria comes to town for a 2 p.m. tilt. The next Warhawk outing will not be until New Year’s Eve against Appalachian State in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.