Thursday, February 26
Sydnor's Double-Double Lifts Mountaineers Past Eagles for Season Sweep
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's basketball got the win over Georgia Southern on Thursday with a score of 66-39.
The Mountaineers (12-14, 7-10 Sun Belt) stayed in control for the majority of the game, getting a series sweep over the Eagles (4-22, 1-16) this season.
Mia Marshall notched the first points of the game, finding a layup 30 seconds in for a 2-0 lead for Appalachian. Georgia Southern responded with two points of their own on the next possession but Farrahn Wood would hit a three-pointer for the Mountaineers.
The Apps continued to score, taking a 9-5 lead at the 15:00 minute mark, but the Eagles began to chip away, going on a 6-1 run to pull ahead, 11-10 with 10:10 to play in the first. The Apps managed to regain composure, scoring a combined 10-straight points from Maryah Sydnor and Joi Jones.
Appalachian closed out the first half with an 11-4 run, leading 33-18 at the half.
Bria Carter led the Apps with seven points in the first half, while Sydnor added 7 rebounds. The team recorded a 42.4 percent field goal percentage in the first 20 minutes.
The Eagles were led by Patrice Butler's six points while the team shot 23.3 percent from the floor.
Georgia Southern started the second half strong, going on a 6-0 run, featuring two layups and two free throws to trail by just nine points and 18 minutes to play.
From there the Mountaineers went on a 6-2 run, as Carter took control to score four-straight. The Eagles got their first three-pointer of the game at the 15:24 minute mark to cut App's lead to ten points, but KeKe Cooper would steal the ball to allow two points for Jones.
The scoring would go back-and-forth until the Apps recorded ten-straight points over a three-minute span. The Eagles ended their drought at the 6:51 minute mark to trail 54-35.
App State finished the game with an 11-4 run, as Katelyn Doub sealed the game with a three-pointer in the final minute. The Apps got the win over the Eagles with a final score of 66-39.
Sydnor led the team with a double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Carter finished with 13 points, Jones added 11.
The Mountaineers shot 42.4 percent from the field, recording 46 rebounds and 13 turnovers.
Georgia Southern was led by Butler's ten points as the team recorded just a 27.6 field goal percentage. The Eagles tallied 44 rebounds and 23 turnovers.
The Mountaineers return to action on Saturday, Feb. 28 when they play UL Monroe at 1 p.m.
Clark's 16-points, Second-Half Defense Propels Trojans Past Georgia State
LITTLE ROCK – Kiera Clark had herself a stellar performance on the night meant to honor her. The UALR defense was just as stellar in the second half.
Clark tied a season high with 16 points on Senior Night, and the Trojans’ defense allowed just 8 second-half points as UALR claimed a 56-39 victory over Georgia State at the Jack Stephens Center Thursday night.
The win for UALR (23-4, 16-2 Sun Belt Conference) means the Trojans finish home conference play undefeated for the second consecutive year. UALR’s last home conference loss came on Jan. 12, 2013.
Georgia State (12-14, 7-10), meanwhile, tallied a mere 8 points in the second half and matched a season low for scoring in a game with 39 points. The 8 points scored by the Panthers in the second half is the lowest total for a UALR opponent in program history. Georgia State is the fifth team this year to score 40 points or fewer against UALR.
Besides her season-high 16 points, Clark also tallied a team-best eight rebounds on the night while adding two assists and a steal. Fellow senior Ka'Nesheia Cobbins led UALR with seven assists and also had six rebounds to go along with a team-high three steals. Taylor Gault scored 9 points and made two 3-pointers in her final game in Little Rock.
The Trojans have now swept the regular-season series with the Panthers and have earned 16 Sun Belt wins for the first time since 2009-10. UALR has now won three straight games against the Panthers and 24 straight league games at the Jack Stephens Center. The Trojans also maintained their 1.5-game lead on Arkansas State in the Sun Belt standings.
Thursday’s game was not a runaway for the Trojans, though, as they struggled to stop the Panthers in the first half. With just a 33-31 lead at halftime, though, the UALR defense kicked into high gear and held Georgia State to only three made field goals for the second half.
The Trojans began the second half in good form, with Gault draining a 3-pointer and Clark sinking two free throws and a jumper in the first four minutes. That 7-0 run gave the team a 40-31 lead and forced a Georgia State timeout.
But UALR went cold after that, going without a basket for five minutes as Georgia State got right back into the contest with three consecutive baskets. With 11:43 left in the game, an Ashlee Cole layup cut UALR’s lead to just 40-37. That would be the Panthers’ last field goal of the night.
A layup by Collins after an offensive rebound got UALR back in the groove, and she wasn’t done as she followed that with a driving layup one minute later. Dawn stole the ball and got a fast-break layup on the Panthers’ next trip down the court, extending UALR’s lead to 46-38 with nine minutes to play and causing another Panthers timeout.
At that point, though, Georgia State had scored its last point of the night. The Trojans’ lead grew for the final nine minutes, eventually reaching a game-high 17 points as Alexius Dawn sank two free throws in the final minute.
In the second half, Georgia State only attempted 13 field goals, missing 10. The Panthers committed 15 turnovers and UALR grabbed seven steals as its defense reached another level. UALR also blocked two Georgia State shots in the second half, and the Trojans scored 16 points off the Panthers’ turnovers.
Dawn finished the night with 13 points, and she earned 7 of them in the second half. She also picked up five assists. Cobbins eclipsed 100 steals in her career during the game, and Gault also earned her 200th career assist.
The first half never saw either team get too large of a lead, as Georgia State took hold early but UALR gained a 6-point advantage late in the half. That lead for UALR came thanks to 3-pointers on three consecutive field goals by Dawn, Collins and Gault. But over the final five minutes of the period, Georgia State cut into that lead. A layup by Haley Gerrin with three seconds left brought the Panthers within 2 points, and the Trojans went into the half with a slim 33-31 lead.
At the break, Clark had a team-high 8 points while Cobbins lead UALR with six assists and four rebounds. Georgia State shot 54.5 percent from the field in the first half and outrebounded the Trojans 15-11 in the first 20 minutes.
Before the game, UALR honored its three seniors for their four years of excellence with the Trojans. Clark, Cobbins and Gault all played their final game in the Jack Stephens Center on Thursday night. They were presented with framed jerseys and were escorted onto the court by their families.
UALR will finish its regular season on the road, traveling to UT Arlington on Saturday before a matchup with Louisiana on March 5. The Trojans' game against the Mavericks is set for 5 p.m.
Red Wolves Hold off Lady Mavs for 67-62 Win
JONESBORO, Ark. (2/26/15) – The Arkansas State women’s basketball team grabbed a 14-point halftime advantage over UT Arlington, and then held off a second-half rally by the Mavericks to claim a 67-62 Sun Belt Conference victory Thursday night at the Convocation Center.
A-State improved to 19-8 overall, leaving it only one victory shy of reaching 20 wins for the second consecutive year. The Red Wolves, winners in seven of their last eight games, also ran their Sun Belt record to 14-3. Texas-Arlington saw its record go to 15-11 overall and 9-8 in league play.
Junior forward Khadija Brown-Haywood led four A-State players scoring in double figures, recording 17 points as well as a team-high six rebounds. Junior guard Aundrea Gamble added 14 points and team-high four steals, while senior forward Jasmine Hunt and senior guard Hannah Qedan added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Red Wolves.
A-State was able to take a double-figure advantage almost midway through the first half and went on to post a 39-25 halftime lead, taking advantage of 17 UTA turnovers it turned into 19 points. However, the Mavericks outscored the Red Wolves 19-6 over the second half’s first nine minutes to pull within 45-44.
Almost five minutes later UTA took its first lead since the opening possession, when LaShanda Green hit a three that made the score 55-54 with 6:34 left in the game. A-State responded by going on a 9-1 run to go back up by seven points with 2:17 remaining. The Mavericks were able to pull back within three points on two different occasions down the stretch, but couldn’t get any closer.
“We played really well defensively the first half and did a good job flying around,” said A-State head coach Brian Boyer. “We were able to keep them uncomfortable the first half, and we forced 17 turnovers that allowed us to get out in offense. We weren’t able to do that the second half. Our defense was alright, but we didn’t force turnovers.
“They are a good team, and they are hard to defend because of their size. That can be a challenge if you’re not forcing turnovers, but fortunately we did enough right things to get the win.”
UTA actually finished the game with a higher shooting percentage, .489 to .451, and had one more rebound, but committed 23 turnovers to the Red Wolves 14. A-State also made 17-of-22 free throws, while the Mavericks were 10-of-15 at the line.
Arkansas State returns to action Saturday, Feb. 28, when it will face Texas State in a 2 p.m. road game.
Troy Dominates Second-Half in Win over Texas State; Earn Sixth Consecutive Win
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Troy women's basketball team dominated the second half and ran away with a 75-59 win over Texas State on Thursday night at Strahan Coliseum. The win was Troy's sixth straight, marking the Trojans' second six-game wining streak of the season.
Troy (18-7, 13-5) held Texas State to 25 percent shooting (10-of-40) in the second half and opened the half on a 13-0 run to take control for good. Ronita Garrett posted her 19th double-doubles of the season with 24 points and 12 rebounds, including 14 points and nine rebounds in the second half.
Caitlyn Ramirez posted 10 of her career-high 16 rebounds in the first half to help Troy withstand four Texas State (15-11, 10-7) 3-pointers. Troy closed the first half on a 6-0 run to take a 36-33 lead into the second half.
The Trojans then extended the lead to 19-0 as they scored the first 13 points of the second half. Texas State opened the half 0-of-9 from the field with five turnovers before Taeler Deer hit a jumper with 14:54 to go to cut the Troy lead to 49-35.
"Texas State shot great in the first half," Troy head coach Chanda Rigby said. "In the second half we changed defenses, and only intended to stay in that defense for two or three minutes, just to throw them off a little. But it was working well and we stuck with it."
Texas State showed some life when four straight Troy turnovers turned into a 9-0 Texzs State run cut the Troy lead down to six, 54-48, with 9:32 to go.
However, the Bobcats never got closer than six as an Ashley Beverly-Kelley jumper with 6:30 to go sparked a 10-0 Troy run that the game out of reach. Troy went on to lead by as many as 19 with under a minute to go
Beverly-Kelley finished with 12 points, just her second game this month without 20 points. However, the reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week posted a game-high five assists. Beverly-Kelley was also big in holding Ayriel Anderson, Texas State's second leading scorer, to five points on 2-of-11 shooting
Deer scored 13 points for the Bobcats who lost their second straight game. Erin Peoples led Texas State with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Despite her efforts, Troy outrebounded the Bobcats, 48-42, including 28-18 in the second half.
Troy shot 46 percent (30-of-66) on the night while Texas State hit 30 percent (23-of-76), including 5-of-25 from long range. Troy hit 3-of-12 from deep.
Entering the game, Texas State was the only Sun Belt team Rigby had yet to defeat in her time at Troy. The previous three meetings had been close, decided by a combined 10 points, before Troy exploded for the 16-point win on Thursday night.
The Trojans now turn their attention to Georgia State on Saturday. The Panthers, who lost on Thursday night at UALR, will visit Trojan Arena for a 2 p.m. contest. Troy will be looking for the program's first seven-game winning streak since 1992-93.
In it's final home game of the season, Troy will also honor its four seniors (Kourtney Coleman, Ronita Garrett, Brianna Lancaster and Aissata Maiga) during halftime of the men's game which will follow.
ULM Uses Strong Defensive Effort to Defeat Jaguars
MOBILE, Ala. – Daja Chase captured the first double-double of her career as she led the ULM women’s basketball team to a 45-38 victory over South Alabama on Thursday night in the Mitchell Center.
"Great defensive effort by our team tonight,” said head coach Jeff Dow. “In their win on Saturday, South Alabama scored 51 points alone in the second half. We held them to 19 points in each half and 25% or less from the field in each half. It was just an outstanding job of executing the scouting report and shutting down their guards. We also got a big performance from Daja Chase, especially on the offensive boards."
Chase scored 12 points and grabbed 10 boards on the evening. The freshman is just the third Warhawk this season to collect a double-double.
The ULM (11-15, 7-10 SBC) defense stepped up tonight as they held South Alabama (5-11, 2-16 SBC) to just 22.6 percent from the field, 20 percent from beyond the arc, and 50 percent from the charity stripe. This is the fourth contest this season where the Warhawk defense has held the opponent to under 30 percent field goal shooting.
ULM out rebounded their opponent by double-digits for the seventh time this season as they grabbed 50 boards compared to South Alabama’s 40.
Sharnice Brooks joined Chase in double figures as the senior garnered 10 points for her 20th double-figure game of the season. Brooks also grabbed six rebounds on the night.
Alayshia Hunter chipped in 12 rebounds and six points for ULM.
Chyna Ellis had a game-high 14 points for the Jaguars.
Christina Gray used a layup early in the game to spark an 11-0 Warhawk run as the visiting team took a 13-2 advantage with 13:26 left in the first half.
The home team cut the lead to six, but Chase hit a layup and Hunter nailed a free throw to extend ULM’s lead to nine, 20-11, with 6:41 remaining before the break.
South Alabama ended the half on an 8-2 spurt to leave the Warhawks with a 22-19 advantage heading into the locker room.
USA’s Marquita Daniels hit a three-pointer to tie the game at the start of the second half, but Brooks’ jumper gave ULM a 24-22 lead with 17:01 left in the game.
The home team took their first lead of the game as Daniels hit another bucket from beyond the arc. The lead was extended to three as Taylor Jenkins hit a basket, but back-to-back jumpers from Chase and Hunter sparked a 9-0 run by ULM as they regained the lead, 33-27, with 11:26 remaining.
South Alabama cut the lead to three with 5:26 left, but the Warhawks stretched their advantage back to nine en route to a 45-38 road victory as they completed the season sweep over the Jaguars.
ULM will complete their road slate on Saturday as they travel to Appalachian State for a noon tipoff in the Holmes Convocation Center.