Saturday, January 16
Trojans Claim Fifth Consecutive with Win over Texas State
TROY, Alabama – The Troy women's basketball team won a fifth straight Sun Belt game, and did it in dominating fashion, cruising past Texas State, 112-79, at Trojan Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The nation's fifth best offense was on full display as Troy (10-5, 5-1) scored over 100 points for the fifth time this season, led by five Trojans scoring in double figures. Ashley Beverly Kelley scored 22 points to move her career total to 1,621, the most by a player in Troy's 23-year Division I history.
ArJae' Saunders with 16, Claresa Banks with 12 and Caitlyn Ramirez with 11 all scored in double figures for the Trojans. Saunders, after scoring a career-high 19 just two nights ago, followed with 10 in the first quarter on Saturday as the Trojans took control early and never looked back.
The Trojans led, 20-13, after the first quarter, but really came alive in the second quarter, when they exploded for 36 points. Troy built a 56-36 lead at halftime, thanks to 60 percent (24-of-40) shooting in the first half. The lead would only grow in the second half, getting to as many as 37 on a Rachel Reid 3-pointer that put the Trojans at the century mark with a 100-63 advantage.
Reid scored eight points with three assists in her first game in over two weeks. She was nearly in double-figures scoring off the bench, but La'Tia Fils-Aime' did score 12 off the bench to become the fifth Trojan in double figures. Ta'Kierra Gibbs scored nine points and had six assists, while Casie Johnson had a career-high nine points to lead Troy to 47 bench points.
Texas State (8-7, 3-2) actually outscored Troy with 51 bench points thanks to 24 from Kiani Lurry on 7-of-11 shooting and 10-of-13 from the free throw line.
Troy forced the Bobcats into 22 turnovers while committing a season-low 10 itself. That led to Troy outscoring the Bobcats 33-7 in points off of turnovers and 18-4 in fast break points.
The win gave Troy its third five-game winning streak in Sun Belt play in the last two seasons, something it had never done since joining the league in 2005-06. It also cemented the Trojans spot in second place in the Sun Belt standings. At 5-1 in league play, the Trojans are tied with UL Lafayette, whom they will play in one week.
That is the second game of a road trip that begins on Thursday against ULM at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The Warhawks won on Saturday at Georgia Southern to pick up their first conference victory of the season. Troy and ULM will tip off at 5:15 p.m. at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
Late Defense, Free Throws Lift Jaguars Past UT Arlington
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team got four defensive stops on UT Arlington's final possession of the game and Juliann Miller clinched the win for the Jaguars with a pair of free throws with 4.7 seconds remaining as USA picked up its second Sun Belt Conference win of the season Saturday afternoon with a 59-55 win over the Mavericks at the Mitchell Center.
"It was just an outstanding effort by our young ladies, they never gave in and kept fighting," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said. "We have been putting ourselves in position to win these types of games, and now we are starting to see we are able to win those ballgames. You have to be able to compete before you can start winning. It was an outstanding job by our entire program.
"We told our team yesterday in practice that we should be on a four-game winning streak, but we're not. I told them we have to take more pride in winning in the Mitchell Center, I thought that was the key and that our kids didn't want to let that happen today. We have to keep moving on — we go to Louisiana next week — so I'd like to build some momentum and keep going. I think the kids are understanding what it takes to prepare, and they are executing it on game day."
UTA (7-8, 2-3 SBC) missed a pair of three-pointers, had a shot blocked Chyna Ellis and was called for a travel with 6.4 seconds to go on their final offensive possession before the Miller free throws.
The Jaguars (6-9, 2-4 SBC) will now head out on the road for three-straight games, beginning with UL Lafayette on Thursday night. Tip-off versus the Ragin' Cajuns is set 5 p.m. at the Cajundome. Live stats and web streaming for the contest can be accessed at www.USAJaguars.com. Fans can also keep up with in-game updates by following action on the program's twitter account @SouthALWBB.
South Alabama was led offensively by a pair of sophomores – Ellis and Marquita Daniels – who each had 13 points apiece. Ellis was 5-of-10 from the floor and hit all three of her free-throw attempts, while also adding nine rebounds and five blocked shots.
Ellis now has 42 blocks on the season and is averaging 2.8 per game. The five-block game was her fourth game this season in which she has recorded five or more rejections. In her six conference games this season, Ellis is averaging 4.0 bpg.
Led by Ellis in the post, South Alabama registered its fourth 10-block performance of the season, matching its season highs set earlier this season against Florida (12/1), Arkansas State (1/2) and at Georgia State (1/9).
Daniels was 5-for-13 from the floor and hit a pair of three-pointers in the win. She also had four steals – which were one shy of tying a season-high – in her 23 minutes of action. Daniels was 4-for-7 from the field in the quarter and had two of her steals.
"I didn't give up on the play," Daniels said of her defensive play against the Mavericks. "I watched film on the last few games and I was letting people get past me instead of taking that extra step. So I took that extra step, and everybody else was there to be in a gap with help."
Daniels, who ranks second on the team with 24 steals, had not recorded a steal in either of her last two outings.
Of Daniels' 13 points, 10 came during the third quarter where South Alabama scored 20 points. Coming into the game, USA was averaging just 11.9 per game in the third period this season.
Miller also carded her third-straight double-figure outing of the season with 10 points. Miller was 6-of-6 at the line, while South Alabama ended the contest 17-for-22 for 77.3 percent.
Rebekah Van Dijk was the lone Maverick in double figures as she had 20 points and 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Van Dijk was 6-of-14 from the floor and 8-of-11 at the foul line in the loss. As a team, UTA was 15-for-21 at the charity stripe for 71.4 percent.
Of her 12 boards, eight came on the offensive glass. UTA – which had 44 rebounds – finished with 21 offensive rebounds in the game, but was only able to get nine second-chance points off those opportunities. While UTA had 19 more shot attempts, the visitors were just 18-for-67 from the field for 26.9 percent. The Mavericks – who also entered the game leading the Sun Belt in three-point shooting (.346) – were just 4-of-17 from the arc in the loss for 23.5 percent.
Cierra Johnson, who had a career-high 26 points against Troy on Thursday, was held to nine points on 2-of-13 shooting. Johnson still managed to record six of UT Arlington's eight steals on the afternoon. Johnson entered the game ranked sixth in the nation with 3.43 steals per game.
Both teams got off to a slow start connecting on just three of their first 17 attempts during the first five minutes of the contest. Van Dijk led the Mavs during the first 10 minutes of action, scoring seven of the club's 13 points and gave the Mavs as much as a four-point lead (10-6) in the opening period.
South Alabama kept chipping away at the deficit and with under a minute to go in the first, Miller drove the left baseline for a reverse layup to tie the contest up at 13.
UT Arlington answered back at the other end of the floor on the ensuing possession though and retook the lead on a bucket by Morgan Hunt.
In the second quarter, South Alabama scored the first four points of the period and claimed its first lead of the afternoon at 17-15 after a pair of free throws by Davis at the 8:24 mark.
UTA went back out on top on its next possession after a three by Amara Wainwright from the left wing, but USA would answer back with four more points. LaNeetra Guillory's 15-foot jumper from the left elbow gave the Jags their largest lead of the game to that point (21-18) with six minutes, 45 seconds showing on the clock.
The Mavericks would score on each of their next two possessions and go up 22-21 following Wainwright's pull up jumper with less than to six remaining before the half.
The two teams would exchange the lead five times for the remainder of the half. With less than 30 seconds remaining, Davis stole the ball from Wainwright and went the length of the floor for a layup to put the Jaguars up 28-27. The Mavericks' three-point attempt by Miranda LeJune from the left corner was off the mark in the closing seconds and Miller grabbed the rebound and held onto it as the horn sounded for the intermission.
UTA turned up its defensive pressure to start the second half and rattled off a quick 7-0 run to take a 34-28 lead two minutes into the third. As they did in the first quarter, the Mavs fed the ball into the post to Van Dijk where she scored the first five points of the run. Johnson then hit a pair of free throws to give UT Arlington the four-point advantage.
Trailing by five (35-30), South Alabama began to again claw its way back. Guillory hit one of two at the line, and after the missed free throw, Miller came up with the offensive rebound. The senior was fouled and hit two free throws of her own to cut the deficit to two. After a two UTA free throws, Daniels drained her second trey of the contest, this one coming at the 5:39 mark from the left wing to cut the Maverick lead to 37-36.
With just over four to play in the third, Daniels recorded another steal and went the length of the court for a layup to give USA a one-point advantage. The Jaguars added three more free throws over the next minute and went up 41-37 after two by Ellis at the 3:05 mark.
UTA would answer the 11-2 Jaguar run with a run of five unanswered points over a 72 second stretch and go back out in front 42-41. The Maverick run was started by Morgan Holly's basket, which was their first made field goal since the 8:39 mark of the third and snapped a streak of eight-straight misses with three turnovers.
Daniels had the answer for the Jaguars again as the sophomore forced a UTA turnover and went in for another layup. With under a minute to go, Daniels then recorded another bucket to put USA up three. South Alabama would get a defensive stop at the other end of the floor and take advantage of the extra offensive possession. Taylor Jenkins banked in a three-pointer from the left wing to send USA into the fourth with a 48-42 advantage.
While UTA was just 3-of-15 from the floor in the quarter, the Mavericks were able to remain in the game hitting nine of their 11 free-throw attempts.
Trailing by six entering the final quarter, UT Arlington held the Jags scoreless for the first four minutes of the period and rattled off six unanswered points. Van Dijk scored five of UTA's six points during the run and hit one of two at the line with six minutes, 48 seconds remaining to knot the contest up at 48-48.
Following Van Dijk's free throw, Ellis ended the scoreless drought for the Jaguars with a bucket and on USA's next possession, Jenkins converted an and-one play to extend South Alabama's lead out to 53-48.
UTA would again quickly tie the contest back up though. LaShanda Green knocked down a three from the left wing with just over five to go and then coming out of a media time out, Johnson recorded a steal when USA was inbounding the ball underneath the Mavericks' basket. Johnson's layup at the 4:32 mark tied the game back up at 53-53.
Still tied at 55-55 with under a minute to go, Davis drove to the basket and was fouled. The Wylie, Texas, native calmly went to the line and hit both of her attempts with 39.6 remaining.
UT Arlington would have four different scoring chances over the next 30 seconds. Green missed a three from the top of the key and after a Jaguar foul on the rebound, the Mavericks looked as if they were going to tie the game up as Van Dijk cut to the basket on the inbounds and looked like she was going to have a clear path to the basket. Ellis, however, recovered on the back side of the defense and swapped Van Dijk's shot out of bounds.
"On that last play with the block, I got lost because I didn't see her cut," Ellis said. "When I saw her catch it I had to hurry up and recover, I didn't want her to get the shot up because that would've tied the game and it would have been a momentum changer. I was glad I could get there to get that stop."
Green would miss another three-point attempt, but Holly came down with the offensive board for UTA. After a 30-second time out, Johnson was called for a travel, giving South Alabama possession of the ball.
South Alabama called its final time out and advanced the ball to half-court where the Jags were able to get the ball into Miller. She was fouled and got both free-throw attempts to fall to seal the win. UTA was unable to get a shot off in the closing seconds before the final horn sounded.
UTA missed its last six shots and eight of its last nine, while also turning the ball over three times in the last three minutes.
Chases' Buzzer-Beater Gives ULM Narrow Win over Georgia Southern
STATESBORO, Ga. – Monroe native Daja Chase’s runner with less than a second left gave ULM a dramatic 50-49 win at Georgia Southern on Saturday afternoon. The Warhawks trailed 43-36 with seven minutes left.
“I mean, my junior year of high school I had a three-pointer in Texas with five seconds to go that tied it up,” Chase said regarding her previous most memorable shot. “We just stayed positive today, pulled it together and got the win.”
Chase, the hero, also had an unsung moment just 14 seconds before, blocking an Eagle three-point attempt that could have iced the game. The Warhawks called a timeout immediately after Alayshia Hunter got the rebound. Chelsea Tieuel's long-distance trywith six seconds left was tipped, and Hunter saved it from going out before Chase followed up with the play of the night, just inside the paint.
Tieuel’s three-pointer in front of the ULM bench with 1:24 to go gave ULM its first lead of the second half.
“We just had to go out and play with heart and toughness and execute our plays,” Tieuel said. “I switched up my footwork, stepping with my right instead of my left, mostly because of my hurt ankle. Coach Humphries also told me to shoot a little higher.”
Head coach Jeff Dow affirmed Tieuel’s toughness.
“It was a great game by Chelsea with a sprained ankle, and we didn’t even know if she was going to go today,” he said. “She was out there for 36 minutes, had zero turnovers and made a clutch three-pointer on an out-of-bounds play.”
A three-pointer by Trell English-Lurry put Georgia Southern up 43-36 at the seven-minute mark of the fourth quarter, its largest of the game, but Daja Chase came right back with a three-point play on a layup. ULM’s next trip down was another two points from Chase that made it a 43-41 margin, and Aundrea Davis lofted a contested left-handed layup at the 4:13 mark that tied the game.
ULM (7-8, 1-5 SBC) scored 10 of the game’s first 12 points and also forced a pair of shot clock violations in that span.
The Eagles posted a 12-2 run to end the first half, taking their first lead of the game in the process. Patrice Butler got the old-fashioned three-point play that gave Georgia Southern a 21-20 lead. The Eagles then made their next four free-throw attempts, including two with less than a second to play that made it a 25-20 halftime margin.
“It was a tremendous comeback win, down seven with little under seven left,” Dow said. “It certainly shows resiliency of our kids, a lot of big stops on the defensive end late in the game. “We certainly had our rough stretches offensively but we never stopped defending.”
ULM’s Thursday game with Troy will be its first in Fant-Ewing Coliseum since Dec. 31. Tip-off is set for 5:15 p.m. and will be aired on 1680 AM.
A-State Rolls to Fifth-Straight Win
JONESBORO, Ark. (1/16/15) – Senior forward Khadija Brown-Haywood scored a game-high 21 points and senior guard Aundrea Gamble posted her second double-double of the season, leading Arkansas State to its fifth consecutive win as the Red Wolves knocked off Appalachian State 83-60 Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center in a Sun Belt Conference women’s basketball game.
A-State, which extended its home winning streak ranked eighth in the nation entering today to 17 games, improved to 11-3 overall and 5-0 in league action. The Mountaineers suffered their third consecutive loss, falling to 5-10 overall and 2-4 against Sun Belt opponents.
Brown-Haywood eclipsed 20 points for the third time over the last four games, while Gamble followed with 20 points to go along with a season-high 10 assists. Gamble also tied her career high with five steals, and Jessica Flanery and Brittney Gill added 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Red Wolves.
“Drea was really good tonight double-double and what was more impressive than that was the five steals, which all came in the first half,” A-State head coach Brian Boyer said. “Those were all steals that led to points on the other end and I thought she did a good job of shooting the passing lanes tonight.”
A-State shot 54 percent from the field, including a 10-of-14 performance in the fourth period, to score over 80 points in back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Red Wolves’ field goal percentage was their fourth highest this year.
The game’s first five minutes featured three ties, but A-State was able to take a lead it wouldn’t relinquish when Flanery hit a three that put the Red Wolves on top 10-7 with 5:51 left in the first period. Still holding a slight edge at 14-13, the Red Wolves ended the period’s final minute with an 8-0 run.
The second 10 minutes saw A-State outscore Appalachian State 20-8 to build a 41-21 halftime advantage. The Red Wolves limited App State to a .267 shooting percentage in the second period, the lowest of the game for the Mountaineers, to help them claim the 20-point advantage.
“The second quarter is when things really opened up for us,” Boyer said. “We started pressing a little bit and we are able to get some steals out of that and get our offense going a little bit.”
The third period was the only one where A-State was outscored, posting 17 points to Appalachian State’s 23. However, the Red Wolves responded with their best shooting performance of the contest in the fourth period as they outscored the Mountaineers 25-16.
Not only did A-State enjoy one of its best shooting performances of the season, it limited Appalachian State to a 37.1 field goal percentage. The Mountaineers finished with a 37-35 advantage on the board and scored 17 second-chance points, but the Red Wolves outscored them 52-30 in the paint. Arkansas State was also able to turn 27 App State turnovers into 32 points and had 24 fast break points to the Mountaineers two.
Appalachian State was led by three players scoring in double figures, including Bria Carter with a team-high 12. The Mountaineers’ Mia Marshall also finished with a double-double, scoring 10 points and pulling down a game-high 10 boards.
A-State returns to action Monday, Jan. 18, with a 5 p.m. game at the Convocation Center against Little Rock
Cajuns Cruise to 77-57 Win at Georgia State
ATLANTA, Ga. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team finished a four-game road swing with a convincing 77-57 victory at Georgia State Saturday afternoon.
The Cajuns (12-3, 5-1 SBC) improved to 4-1 in conference road games this season and won their fourth straight game over Georgia State in the all-time series.
"I thought Jaylyn [Gordon] and Kia [Wilridge] played great games," Ragin' Cajuns head coach Garry Brodhead said. "Both handled the ball well and pressured the ball on defense. It's big for us to hold them to five points in the first quarter. They made some runs, but we were able to answer which speaks to our maturity as a team."
Senior guard Kia Wilridge handed out four assists, raising her career total to 264. The 264 assists placed her into sixth place on the Cajuns' all-time list. (Alicia McDaniel – 261). She also pulled down a team-high six rebounds. Junior guard Jaylyn Gordon splashed four three-pointers, which gave her 144 for her career, passing Onna Charles for sixth on UL's all-time list.
The Cajuns, who never trailed in the game, quickly came out ahead 5-0 when Gordon and senior Keke Veal scored via a layup and three-pointer, respectively.
With the score at 5-2, Gordon came up with back-to-back three-pointers to pull the Cajuns ahead by nine at 11-2 with 3:08 to play in the opening quarter. The lead reached double-digits at the 1:29 mark when Veal dropped in a layup.
Louisiana outscored Georgia State, 20-5 in the first quarter, holding the Panthers to their lowest point total this season for a single quarter. Eight of Wilridge's 20 points came in the first quarter of the game.
A 14-4 scoring surge ensued for Georgia State in the second quarter, cutting the Cajuns' lead to 24-19 with 4:18 left in the first half.
Wilridge came back with a three-pointer on the next possession to make it a 27-19 ballgame.
The Cajuns' lead slipped to five at 29-24, but they worked to push their advantage back to 10 with the help of four straight points by Gordon to end the scoring run.
Louisiana attempted 23 free throws in the first half, converting on 20 of them (87%). Gordon (12), Wilridge (10) and Veal (10) all reached double-digit points in the opening 20 minutes.
The third quarter was headlined by a 24-11 scoring route by the Cajuns, who received 22 of those points from Gordon (12) and Wilridge (10). Louisiana collected 12 points off seven Georgia State turnovers in the quarter. Louisiana held a 60-38 lead after three quarters, leaving the game in doubt.
The bench saw plenty of playing time in the final quarter and produced nine points. Freshman Jordan Alexander scored four points in the quarter while redshirt junior Sylvana Okde added three points in four minutes.
The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns return home for a five-game homestand. They will host South Alabama next Thursday, Jan. 21 for a 5 p.m. tip-off at the Cajundome.