Thursday, January 28
A-State Ties School Record Home Winning Streak
JONESBORO, Ark. (1/28/16) – Led by four players scoring in double figures, the Arkansas State women’s basketball team claimed a 75-54 Sun Belt Conference victory against Georgia State Thursday night at the Convocation Center to run its home winning streak to a school-record-tying 19 games.
The Red Wolves now hold a 15-3 overall record that is their best through 18 games since the 1996-97 season. A-State remains in sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt standings after improving its league record to 9-0. Georgia State saw its overall record fall to 8-10 and now stands 3-6 in conference action.
“It’s good to get a win,” A-State head coach Brian Boyer said. “My comments to the team afterwards were sometimes you just don’t play your best, but, you know we did a lot of good things today.”
Junior guard Brittany Fowler came off the bench to post a career-high 15 points, joining senior guard Aundrea Gamble as Arkansas State’s leading scorers. Also reaching double figures for the Red Wolves were senior forward Amanda Lawson and senior guard Brittney Gill with 10 points each.
“Fowler hit some key shots in the second half that really kind of separated the score a little bit,” Boyer added. “Through all of that I was still proud of the way that we did some things defensively. We forced 29 turnovers which is really good. We gave ourselves extra chances, and we had 22 offensive rebounds and when you are not shooting the ball well you have to keep giving yourself extra chances.”
A-State lead just 10-9 seven minutes into the game before ending the first period with a 15-11 advantage. Still holding just a three-point cushion with 4:03 left in the second period, the Red Wolves were able to close the half by scoring 11 of the last 16 points to take a 35-26 lead into the break.
Arkansas State was able to grab a double-figure lead, which it wouldn’t relinquish the remainder of the game, just over three minutes into the third period. The Red Wolves went on to outscore the Panthers 15-9 in the third period and saw their lead swell to as much as 25 points in the fourth.
The Red Wolves recorded a .377 field goal percentage in comparison to Georgia State’s .417, but attempted 29 more shots than the Panthers. They also recorded just 10 turnovers to Georgia State’s 29 and scored 33 points of the Panthers’ miscues.
While GSU finished with a 44-39 advantage on the boards, A-State ended with five more second-chance points. Senior forward Khadija Brown-Haywood pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds for A-State and also finished with seven points, five assists and four steals.
Arkansas State returns to action Saturday, Jan. 30, with a 3:00 p.m. home game against Georgia Southern.
Offense, Defense Combine for Little Rock in Big Win over Eagles
LITTLE ROCK – The Trojan women's basketball played its most dominant game of Sun Belt play against Georgia Southern on Thursday night, getting scoring from all over the roster and holding the Eagles' offense down in a 69-36 victory at the Jack Stephens Center.
The Trojans (7-11, 5-4 Sun Belt Conference) went on an 11-0 run at the end of the first quarter that was part of a larger 27-8 run spanning the final 15 minutes of the first half.
The Eagles (6-12, 3-6) could do almost nothing on offense, shooting just 3 of 10 in the second quarter and turning the ball over seven times in the period.
The 33-point victory was by far Little Rock's largest of the season and largest since the team defeated Texas State in the 2015 Sun Belt Tournament by 43.
Shanity James topped the Trojans with 16 points and added four steals, while Keanna Keys tied a season high with 10 points and added a team-best eight rebounds.
Keys shot 5 of 6 from the field and is now 16 of 17 from the field lifetime against Georgia Southern in the Jack Stephens Center. James was also accurate on Thursday, making seven of her 10 attempts from the floor. Alexius Dawn recorded double-figure scoring as well with 11 points.
The Trojan offense was only part of the story, as the team's defense held the Eagles to just 36 points on 38 percent shooting. Those 36 points are the second-fewest scored by a Trojan opponent this year.
Georgia Southern turned the ball over 23 times, and those turnovers became 28 points for Little Rock. The Eagles also had no presence on the glass, as they had just 13 defensive rebounds while the Trojans pulled down 14 offensive rebounds. Little Rock outrebounded them 36-16 overall.
This is the team's third straight win against the Eagles and its third straight win at the Jack Stephens Center.
The Trojans fell behind early on Thursday, but they used a 9-0 run in the first quarter's last four minutes to take over the game. Little Rock made four of its last six attempts from the field in the quarter while the Eagles only took one field-goal attempt and two free-throw attempts in that span, missing all three. Georgia Southern also had three turnovers in the last four minutes of the quarter as the Trojans took control.
That control extended for the rest of the night, and that run extended to 11-0 before the Eagles finally broke it. But by then, momentum was all Little Rock's. The Trojans completely commanded the second quarter, posting 18 points to the Eagles' 7. And if not for a deep buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Georgia Southern, Little Rock would have held the Eagles to just 4 points in the quarter.
In the first half, Little Rock shot 60.9 percent from the field and outrebounded Georgia Southern 18-5. Keys was 4 of 4 from the floor and co-led the team with 8 points at the break. James also had 8 points and a team-best five rebounds at halftime.
The second half saw more of the same, with the Trojans putting up 19 points in each of the last two quarters and the Eagles managing only 21 points in the half.
Little Rock was able to use a season-high 13 players in the game, and the team saw nine different player score points. Kaitlyn Pratt had 8 to her name, and Monique Townson got 7 as well while dishing out a team-best five assists.
Sophomore Alivia Huell saw her first ever action as a Trojan. She recorded one block and one defensive rebound in her three minutes. Raeyana DeGray got 3 points off the bench late, and Autummn Williams also hit a shot in the final minutes. Amber Landing made two free throws, and Deja McKinney hit her only shot of the night.
Little Rock totaled 19 points off the bench.
Little Rock stays at home for Saturday's game against Georgia State. The Panthers and Trojans are scheduled for a 4 p.m. tipoff.
Free-throw Outburst Lifts UTA Past Warhawks
MONROE, Louisiana – UT Arlington connected on a season-high 30 free throws to snap a four-game losing streak and upend ULM 60-50 Thursday at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
The Lady Mavericks improved to 8-10 overall and 3-5 in the Sun Belt with their first victory since Jan. 7. UTA's previous season's best for free throws made was 19 at UTSA on Dec. 21.
The Lady Mavs reached that total by halftime and finished with exactly half of their points at the charity stripe. Morgan Hunt led the way with eight of her 14 points at the line to match a career high. Rebekah VanDijk, with seven free throws made, earned her fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
After a slow start saw UTA to a 5-4 lead at the first media timeout, the Lady Mavs used a 15-5 run to close the opening quarter with their first double-digit lead.
Morgan Hunt continued the effort into the second quarter as UTA got hot from the free-throw line. Hunt knocked down a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. The Lady Mavs knocked down 19-21 attempts, their best game performance of the season with a half to play.
UTA built its lead to 14 points with five free throws early in the third quarter. However, ULM would trim the lead down by taking advantage of cold shooting and turnovers.
The Warhawks closed the third on a 10-0 run behind four UTA turnovers and a nine consecutive missed shots.
Turning point
After the lead was trimmed to four, it was VanDijk that stepped up to help UTA pull away. VanDijk led the Lady Mavs to a 10-2 surge, converted on three consecutive trips down the floor.
Key Stats
Entering 0-5 when losing the third quarter in SBC play, UTA earned its first win after being outscored 15-9 in the frame. … UTA ended a four-game skid to the Warhawks. ULM holds a 19-9 advantage in the all-time series. … The Lady Mavs had just two 3-pointers, its fewest in a win this season.
Notable
Hunt finished with a career-high eight free throws - her previous best was four. … UTA's 28.6 shooting percentage was its second lowest in a win this season.
Texas State Knocks off UL Lafayette
LAFAYETTE, La. – By outscoring UL Lafayette 15-5 in the fourth quarter including 10 points at the line, the Texas State women's basketball team won in dramatic fashion over the Ragin' Cajuns by a score of 46-42 Thursday evening. UL Lafayette entered the game with an undefeated record of 7-0 at home while the Bobcats were seeking to bounce back after suffering their first loss at home last weekend.
How It Happened:
A 3-pointer with 2:13 remaining in the fourth quarter by senior guard Raven Burns granted Texas State its first lead of the ball game over the Cajuns. That 3-pointer followed up by a free throw by Burns capped an 8-0 run by Texas State to overcome a six-point deficit coming into the fourth quarter.
Until that point in the ball game, the Bobcats played catch up the entire night against the Cajuns. Both teams struggled offensively as through two quarters of play the score was 23-22 in favor of UL Lafayette.
In the second quarter, Texas State trailed by as many as 10 with 3:34 before the intermission. A 3-pointer by Walla followed by another one by Burns quickly saw the Cajun lead dwindle down to four with 1:37 on the clock. A pair of free throws by the Cajuns built their lead back up to six, but it was immediately answered by a jumper in the paint by Burns.
The first half ended on a 3-pointer by Ayriel Anderson, her third of the game, with three seconds on the clock to cut the UL Lafayette lead to one.
Once again in the third, the Bobcats saw themselves trail by double-digits after a jumper by Jordan Alexander with 58 seconds on the clock. A lay-up by Kiani Lurry cut the Cajun lead to eight and with 0.3 seconds on the clock, Anderson was fouled on a rebound that put her back to the line. She sunk both to make it just a six-point Cajun lead with 10 minutes to play.
It wasn't until 3:17 left in the game that a pair of free throws by Anderson sparked the 8-0 run to give Texas State the lead, 41-39.
Down two with three seconds on the clock, UL Lafayette called a timeout that it did not actually have, therefore resulting in a technical by the Cajun bench. Anderson went 1-for-2 from the line to give Texas State a three-point advantage and the ball. A free throw by Lurry with two seconds on the clock sealed the victory for Texas State.
The Bobcats outshot the Cajuns 29.3 to 27.8 from the floor while making seven 3's compared to just two by UL Lafayette. Texas State lost the rebounding battle 40 to 31. A key in the victory Thursday evening was that the Bobcat defense stopped the Cajuns leading scorer, Keke Veal, holding her to just two points.
Who Stood Out:
Senior guard Ayriel Anderson hit three big 3's in the first half and finished the game with a floor-high 16 points … Anderson finished the night going 7-for-8 from the charity stripe and owned all five of the Bobcats assists … Raven Burns finished with 11 points while Kiani Lurry added 10 for Texas State … Burns has now scored in double figures in four out of the last five games … Ericka May snagged 10 rebounds for the Bobcats.
Mountaineers Put up 96 in Win over Troy
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women’s basketball (6-12, 3-6 SBC) showed excellent resiliency in an 96-81 win over Troy (10-9, 5-5 SBC) Thursday evening in Trojan Arena.
Head coach Angel Elderkin needed to light a fire under the squad after two setbacks at home against Georgia State and Georgia Southern, and that’s exactly what she did lighting 15 matches in the locker room before the game. It gave the Apps motivation in the victory, snapping a four-game losing streak while four players set new career highs.
Joi Jones was one of many great performances on the evening with a team-high 18 points, dished out a career-best 8 assists, grabbed five boards and turned the ball over just once. Jones was also one of six student-athletes that shot at least 50 percent.
Bria Carter scored 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting. The scoring output was the highest for Carter on the road this season. Madi Story continued her solid play with her first double-double of her career with 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. The sophomore also dished out five dimes in the victory.
The production didn’t stop there, as three more student-athletes scored in double figures. Ashley Bassett-Smith had her best performance of the season with a career-high 15 points on an efficient 7-for-8 production from the floor. Kaila Craven put up five buckets and a pair of trifectas for 12 points off the bench, and KeKe Cooper was a beast on the boards for her fourth double-double of the season corralling a career-high 16 boards along with 10 points.
After trailing 19-15 after the first quarter, it was all Appalachian from that point on. Both teams exchanged four ties and four lead changes in the period. Following a layup from Carter that gave the Mountaineers a 13-12 lead, the Trojans scored seven of the next nine points for their largest lead of the contest.
Appalachian clicked on all cylinders to open the second period hitting seven of its first nine field goals that led to a dominating 20-4 run over a 5:08 span and a 35-23 lead. Carter opened the quarter with layup followed by a pair of free throws from Jones. Farrahn Wood hit of her three trifectas that broke a 19-19 tie to give Appalachian the lead for good. The Mountaineer defense clamped down on defense during the stretch forcing the hosts to shoot 3-for-11.
The Mountaineers stayed on top of the Trojans for the rest of the half with an 11-point lead going into the break, 44-33. The Black and Gold shot 10-for-19 from the floor while holding Troy to 7-for-21 from the field and outscored the Trojans, 29-14. App State did a terrific job of moving the ball assisting on seven of the 10 shots.
App State’s momentum carried over into the second half running out to a 16-point lead, 58-42, thanks to layups from Carter, Cooper and Mia Marshall. Appalachian eventually went into the final quarter with a 64-52 advantage, but the Apps saved the best for last in the fourth.
The Mountaineers scored 32 points in the period that led to the 15-point victory, including 10 points from Jones. Appalachian expanded the lead to as much as 21, 79-58, thanks to five-straight points from Story. The victors wouldn’t lead by no less than 13 and was never threated by hosts the rest of the way.
Since the first quarter (6-for-20), Appalachian shot 31-of-53 (58.4) from the field. Appalachian scored 46 points in the paint while scoring a staggering 42 points from the bench.
Ashley Beverly Kelley scored a game-high 22 points for the Trojans, but the Mountaineers didn’t make it easy for the guard, shooting just 6-for-19 from the floor and forced Kelley to commit a team-worst six turnovers.
App State will look to keep the same type of play against South Alabama on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. (ET).