Saturday, January 23
Little Rock's Foley Earns 250th-Career Win in Victory over UT Arlington
ARLINGTON, Texas – It was a stressful final few minutes, but Little Rock's Joe Foley earned his 250th victory as head coach of the Trojans thanks to a 59-55 victory over UT Arlington at College Park Center on Saturday night.
Little Rock (6-11, 4-4 Sun Belt Conference) led the game by as many as 14 points with five minutes to play in the fourth quarter before making just one of their final five field goal attempts. The Mavericks made the game interesting, cutting the lead to just 4 points before time ran out on them.
The victory was the 706th of Joe Foley's long career as a college head coach as well as being his 250th at the helm of the Trojans.
Shanity James led Little Rock with 15 points and also had a team-high six rebounds and nearly equaling her career high with three blocks. Kaitlyn Pratt finished with double-figure scoring for the fifth straight game, scoring 12 and adding six rebounds. Alexius Dawn also had a double-figure scoring night with 10 points.
The Trojans' takeover began late in the third quarter. Ahead by just 2 points at 37-35 with 1:38 to play, the team ended the quarter on a 5-0 run thanks to a James layup and a Dawn buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
In the fourth, Little Rock scored 6 of the first 7 points including a great sequence from James. The senior got down low for a layup at the 7:32 mark, then stole the ball from the Mavericks on the next defensive possession. She streaked down the court for an and-1 layup, sinking the free throw to make it a 48-37 lead for the Trojans with seven minutes to play.
The Mavericks called a timeout after that, but James emphasized the Trojans' swing even further just two minutes later. She blocked a Mavericks' 3-point attempt and went on another fast break. That would make it a 14-2 Trojan run and give the team a 51-37 lead with just under five minutes to play.
UT Arlington cut into the 14-point lead over the final five minutes, hitting four field goals and five free throws. But three James free throws, a Pratt free throw and a Pratt and James layup were enough to keep the Mavericks at bay.
The win was Little Rock's fifth straight win against the Mavericks and its third straight win at College Park Center.
Pratt's 12 points came on a very efficient scoring night as she went 4 of 5 from the field and 4 of 6 from the free-throw line. James also shot a high percentage, going 5 of 8 from the field and 5 of 7 from the line. James was also crafty on defense, putting up five steals to go along with her three blocks.
Little Rock used James and Dawn off the bench again Saturday, instead giving a first-career start to freshman Amber Landing.
Sharde' Collins also played a large role on the night, playing 39 minutes while draining two 3-poniters and picking up a team-high four assists.
During the game, James reached 100 career steals and 1,100 career points.
Little Rock will return home for its next four games, beginning that season-long home stretch by taking on Georgia Southern at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday and Georgia State at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
A-State off to Best SBC Start in School History
SAN MARCOS, Texas (1/23/16) – The Arkansas State women’s basketball remained perfect in Sun Belt Conference play with a 74-59 victory over Texas State Saturday afternoon at Strahan Coliseum.
The Red Wolves moved to 8-0 in the league and now own the best start to a conference season in school history. With the win, A-State also improved to 14-3 overall and will return home for four straight games over the next two weeks.
Senior Jessica Flanery scored a career-high 24 points and tied a career-high with six made 3-pointers in the contest to power Arkansas State offensively. Aundrea Gamble added 23 points and five rebounds, while Khadija Brown-Haywood nearly missed a double-double with 14 points and nine boards.
“It is a really good road win and this just caps off a really good stretch of four games in eight days,” A-State head coach Brian Boyer said. “I just told the players that they played really well during this stretch and they have just saved the best performance for last.”
A-State held a five point margin at halftime, but outscored Texas State 25-15 in the third quarter to help expand its lead. Gamble scored 10 points and helped the Red Wolves go on a 21-5 run midway through the period to go up 61-44.
The Bobcats (9-8, 4-3) went scoreless for over six minutes and the committed five turnovers that led to eight points on the offensive end for A-State.
Arkansas State held a 19 point margin with 2:52 to go in the third quarter, but Texas State shot itself back into the game with a hot hand from beyond the arc. The Bobcats went 10-of-18 from the 3-point line and shot 46.2 percent from the field on the afternoon.
Texas State used a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to spark an 8-0 run to cut the lead down to 67-57 with 4:53 remaining, but Gamble hit a jumper in the paint, while Amanda Lawson, Brown-Haywood and Flanery combined to score the game’s final five points to seal the victory.
Flanery shot the Red Wolves out of a slow start with a pair of 3-pointers to help keep pace with Texas State. Arkansas State started the game 2-of-13 from the field, but found it’s stroke midway through the opening period and used a 9-0 run to build a 21-11 lead.
“Call it experience or whatever it is because this team always seems to find a way,” Boyer said. “We got down early but they found way to get back in it and Jess was a big part of that and we needed it today.”
Lauren Bradshaw provided a spark on the defensive end with three blocks in the quarter, while Flanery drained three, 3-pointers to give A-State a 21-13 edge after the opening 10 minutes.
Flanery continued to stay hot in the second quarter and hit two more from beyond the arc, but Texas State took advantage of its quickness got easy points in transition to pull within 36-31 at halftime behind a 15 points effort by Flanery.
The Mountain View, Ark., native tied a career-high with six made 3-pointers during the game, a mark she had previously set at Texas State in 2014.
Offensively, the Red Wolves shot 40.8 percent (29-of-71) from the field and held a 42 to 28 edge on the boards, including a 22-8 edge on the offensive glass. The Red Wolves also went 9-of-10 from the free throw line and forced Texas Sate into 21 turnovers.
Arkansas State returns home to host Georgia State Thursday, Jan. 28.
Gordon's 23 Spark Late Comeback to Lift Cajuns Past Trojans
LAFAYETTE – Trailing by as many as 15 points in the second quarter and eight points in the fourth, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team extended their win streak to four games with a 56-53 win over visiting Troy at the Cajundome on Saturday.
The Cajuns (14-3, 7-1 SBC) trailed 29-17 at halftime, but came out and held Troy to 24 points the rest of the way to win their seventh conference contest in eight tries this season.
Junior guard Jaylyn Gordon tallied a team-high 23 points, 12 of them coming in the fourth quarter. Gordon also came up with a team-best five assists and ended the day tied with three steals.
"In the first half we were trying to be patient and not to rush shots," Ragin' Cajuns head coach Garry Brodhead said. "The second half, we played our game. I thought we started to attack the basket and move the ball around to stay aggressive. We made them guard us and got some offensive penetration. We got into a rhythm to where we controlled the game and how we wanted to play in the second half."
After scoring the game's first five points, the Cajuns' lead quickly evaporated as Troy scored 13 of the game's next 15 points to take a 13-7 advantage with under a minute left in the opening quarter.
Troy's defense yielded just seven points to the Cajuns in the second quarter. The Trojans held a 25-10 lead at the 4:21 mark and maintained the double-digit lead through the end of the second. Louisiana shot just 22.6% (7-of-31) from the floor in the first half.
Senior Brooklyn Arceneaux and freshman Breionne Cooper combined for five points to start the third quarter, closing the score to 29-22.
Back-to-back buckets by Gordon and Arceneaux made it a one-possession game at 29-26 at the 5:55 mark.
The Trojans built their lead back to double-digits with less than four minutes remaining in the third on a layup by Caitlyn Ramirez. Gordon answered with a pair of three-pointers to keep the Cajuns to within striking distance at 39-33.
The two foes traded buckets on the final two possessions as Troy took a 41-35 lead into the final stanza.
The game remained a two-possession affair for the first 3:54 of the fourth quarter until Gordon drained a three-pointer off an assist from senior Adrienne Prejean, making it a 48-46 game in favor of Troy.
After Troy's La'Tia Fils-Aime' split a pair of free throws, Gordon knotted the game at 48-48 on the ensuing possession with 5:07 to go.
Nearly three minutes without a basket, Cajuns senior guard Keke Veal hit the go-ahead shot with 2:10 left.
Troy came back on the other end of the floor to tie the game on their next possession thanks to Kelley Beverly who hit a jumper.
With 1:22 to go, Veal split a pair of free throws to put the Cajuns up, 51-50. Following a missed layup by Troy's Ta'Kierra Gibbs, Gordon came down and drew a foul and deposited both free throw tosses to give UL a 53-50 edge.
With 17 seconds left, Arceneaux forced a turnover by Troy, forcing the Trojans to foul and stop the clock. Gordon extended the lead to 55-50 with a pair of free throws.
After Troy made it interesting with a three-pointer with six seconds left, senior Kia Wilridge made the first of two free throws. Wilridge missed the second shot, allowing time on the game clock to hit triple zeroes.
The Cajuns shot 42.9% (6-of-14) from the floor in the fourth quarter and hit 7-of-10 shots from the charity stripe in the last 10 minutes.
Arceneaux recorded eight points and a team-leading nine boards.
The Cajuns held a 22-14 edge over Troy in points in the paint.
Louisiana next will host Texas State next Thursday, Jan. 28 for a 5 p.m. tip-off at the Cajundome.
Jaguar Women Rally in Second Half to Earn Third SBC Win
MONROE, La. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team fought its way back from an eight-point second=half deficit to pick up its third Sun Belt Conference win of the season, defeating UL Monroe, 63-57 Saturday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
The Jaguars (7-10, 3-5 SBC) will close out the three-game road swing Tuesday night when they travel to take on Troy. Tip-off versus the Trojans is set for 5:15 p.m. at Trojan Arena. Live stats and both audio and web streaming for the contest versus the Trojans 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.
Marquita Daniels, bounced back from a two-point showing on Thursday night to lead the Jaguars with 15 points and a pair of steals. Erin Autio came off the bench to record her fourth double figure outing of the season as she finished with 13 points. Autio was 4-of-9 from the field with a pair of three-pointers and also knocked down three of her four attempts at the free-throw line.
"It was good to see Marquita have that type of game for us," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said. "Marquita played within herself today and didn't really force things. She did a great job of taking advantage of opportunities when they presented themselves to her.
"Erin opened up with a couple of big three-pointers early in the game and just continued to fight throughout the whole game. She had a big basket for us late in the game when she made the left-handed drive down the lane. She then sealed it up at the foul line with the free throw at the end."
USA also had four other player just miss double digits as Colby Davis had nine points and six rebounds, while Juliann Miller chipped in with nine. Taylor Jenkins and Chyna Ellis ended the contest with eight and seven points, respectively. Ellis also pulled down nine rebounds and recorded five blocks.
"We had balanced scoring today and everyone contributed," Fowler said. "Going into this trip with Genesis (Perrymond) out and everyone playing different roles, we told them that if we needed them, they needed to be ready when their number was called. To be able to have a balanced scoring attack and not be dependent on one player was great for us tonight."
The sophomore now has 49 on the year and 105 for her career. Her 49 blocks this season are tied with Shaniece Brunner (2008-09) for ninth-most in a single season. The Cordova, Tenn., native also moved past former Jag LaSandra Jenkins' 10th-place single season mark in the game. Ellis is now averaging 3.88 against Sun Belt competition and 2.88 on the year.
USA's Davis also dished out seven assists, which was one shy of tying a career best for the junior. She also turned the ball over just once. As a team, South Alabama had just nine turnovers, a season low for the club.
UL Monroe dropped to 8-9 on the year and 2-6 in league action with the loss. Alayshia Hunter led all scorers with 22 points – her second-straight 20-point outing and her seventh of the season. Hunter was 9-for-21 from the field and also pulled down nine rebounds.
Chelsea Tieuel also ended the game in double figures with 10 points. Tieuel, who had had nine three-pointers in her last two outings, was held to just two against the Jags.
Aundrea Davis and Daja Chase also had eight points apiece, while Chase led all players on the glass with 12 rebounds.
South Alabama got off to a great start in the opening minutes, jumping out to an 8-0 lead two-and-a-half minutes into the game. USA did it at both ends of the floor, hitting four of its first five shot attempts and recording two blocks and two steals. South Alabama recorded five of its eight blocks in the game during the first 10 minutes of play.
The Jaguars extended their lead out to 13-4, four-and-a-half minutes into the opening quarter after Miller's three-pointer from the right wing. Following Miller's bucket though, South Alabama would not score for the next four minutes.
The Warhawks would take advantage during that stretch and chip away at the deficit, pulling within four at 13-9 on a jumper by Chase with one minute, 27 seconds remaining.
With less than 30 seconds to play in the first quarter, C. Davis would end USA's scoreless drought as she hit one of two at the foul line to give the Jags a 14-9 advantage.
ULM grabbed the momentum early on in the second quarter and tied the game back up at 16-16 on A. Davis' three-pointer from the right wing. On the Warhawks' next possession, Andreanna Jackson gave the home team its first lead of the afternoon (19-16) with a trey of her own.
Trailing by three with five minutes remaining in the half, USA used the long-range shot to get back in the game. Autio tied the contest back up with a three from the top of the key and then after a UL Monroe bucket, the redshirt freshman knocked down another three-pointer to give South Alabama a 26-25 advantage at the 3:48 mark.
With two minutes, 39 seconds showing, Daniels – who was 4-for-7 from the floor with eight points during the first 20 minutes of action – knocked down a jumper and Miller then connected from long range on USA's next possession to put the Jaguars back out on top 30-27 with just under two to play in the quarter.
UL Monroe drained their third trey of the contest at the 1:36 mark to tie the contest back up at 30-30. The three-pointer was A. Davis' second of the quarter. That is where the two teams would head into the locker room as neither was able to score on their final two possessions of the half.
After recording 12 first-half points, Hunter continued to power the Warhawks as the senior forward scored eight of ULM's first 10 points of the third. Hunter gave UL Monroe a 40-32 advantage when she converted her second and-one play of the quarter.
With just over six minutes remaining in the quarter, Daniels would spark the Jaguars as her three-pointer from the left corner ignited a 13-5 run for South Alabama over a three-plus minute stretch. Jenkins – who had six points during the run – gave South Alabama a 46-45 lead when C. Davis found the senior forward cutting to the basket for a layup with two minutes, 35 seconds showing on the clock in the third.
A minute later, UL Monroe reclaimed the lead on Chase's jumper and then extended its advantage out to five on Jackson's three-pointer with less than a minute to play in the quarter.
In the fourth, the Jaguars were able to keep it close over the first five minutes. ULM held a two-point lead (54-52) with five minutes, three seconds remaining, but on USA's ensuing possession, C. Davis found Jenkins open for another layup. South Alabama retook the lead a little over a minute later when Autio drove towards the basket for a layup of her own to put USA up 56-54.
UL Monroe's Tieuel answered with a three though to give the Warhawks a one-point advantage. ULM had a chance on its next possession to stretch its lead out, but Ashley Aune was unable to convert either of her free throw attempts. USA took advantage and after keeping its possession alive with an offensive rebound, Miller drained a jumper at the free throw line with two minutes, 31 seconds showing on the clock to put the Jags back out in front by one.
With under a minute to go, Miller caused a ULM turnover with a steal. The Jaguars worked the clock and with the shot clock getting set to expire, C. Davis came off a screen at the top of the key and drained a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded, giving South Alabama a 61-57 lead with 30 seconds remaining.
"We were counting the shot clock down (on the bench) and Colby was doing everything she's supposed to work herself open for a look at the basket and create some space. She then bounced behind that ball screen and made a great shot. Her shot gave us some cushion and from that point on, it was just about getting stops (at the defensive end of the floor)."
ULM's Hunter was fouled on the Warhawk's ensuing possession with 16 seconds to play, but she would miss both attempts. Ellis came down with the rebound for the Jaguars. With UL Monroe forced to foul, South Alabama extended their lead out as Autio and Ellis both went one-of-two at the charity stripe in the closing seconds, sealing the six-point win for the Jaguars.