Lady Mavs celebrate Gerlich's birthday with huge road win
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Celebrating UT Arlington coach Krista Gerlich's birthday on Wednesday night, the Lady Mavericks gave their coach what she called the biggest win in her tenure at UTA, a 71-68 decision against WKU at E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Lady Mavericks (2-0) stormed back after trailing by double digits for much of the contest and trimmed the deficit down to just one with under a minute. Cierra Johnson put in a layup to give UTA the lead and Miranda LeJune knocked down a pair of free throws to go up three. WKU (1-1) had a look at tying the game, but the 3-pointer bounced off the back of the rim at the buzzer.
Four Lady Mavs finished with double-digit scoring. Christina Devers, for the second consecutive game, led the team as she put in 15. Johnson and Rebekah VanDijk each finished with 14, while Breck Clark added 10, including two big 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter.
WKU, the Conference USA preseason favorite, burst out to a 15-0 lead in the first before UTA could provide any answer. UTA chipped away at the lead to get less than 10 points at the half. The Lady Toppers appeared to steal momentum right back away in the third and went up by 12 late in the quarter.
In a battle that featured two conference Preseason Players of the Year, WKU's Kendall Noble was slowed with just four points. Noble had 12 in the team's season opener on Nov. 11. VanDijk on the other hand finished with a double-double as she paired her points with 12 rebounds.
KEY RUN
Lady Mavs used a seven-point run midway through the fourth quarter to bring the game to 56-56. LeJune and VanDijk each converted in the paint and forced WKU into a timeout with 6:43 to go. The teams went back and forth for the remainder as UTA's energy seemed to wear the defense out.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Breck Clark, entering with just two points in the season opener, hit each of her 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, including the shot that put the Lady Mavs into their first lead. Clark finished with 10 points.
KEY STATS
With a stat line that was similar in most categories, UTA outscored WKU's bench 28-9 and 46-26 in the paint. … Rebekah VanDijk had seven offensive boards as UTA had 18 overall.
UP NEXT
UTA returns to College Park Center to host Wichita State from the Missouri Valley Conference at 5 p.m. Sunday. The Lady Mavs and Shockers met in 2014 in Wichita, Kan. with WSU coming out on top 71-61.
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No. 16 Sooners Hang on for Tight Win Over Trojans
NORMAN, Okla. – The Little Rock women's basketball team hung close with the No. 16 team in the nation all night long, but a 7-0 run by Oklahoma in the third quarter gave the Sooners enough distance to hold on for a 68-58 victory over the Trojans at the Lloyd Noble Center on Wednesday night.
Little Rock (1-2) trailed by just one point at halftime at 34-33, and Oklahoma (2-0) only outscored the Trojans by 4 in the fourth quarter as Little Rock had to foul to stay in the game late. But the Sooners got their separation from the Trojans in the third quarter, outscoring Little Rock 20-15 in the period including that 7-0 run toward the end of the frame.
The Trojans were never able to close the gap in the fourth quarter as nearly every Little Rock basket was answered by the Sooners at the other end.
Sharde' Collins set a new career high with 23 points, and Kaitlyn Pratt also finished the night in double figures with 10. Freshman Kyra Collier scored the first 8 points of her career and led the Trojans with eight rebounds.
In the first half, Collins posted 15 points as the Trojans went into the break trailing just 34-33. The senior went 5 of 11 from the field. Collier also had 6 points in the final minute of the half on two 3-pointers – including – one that beat the buzzer to send the Trojans to the locker room down by one.
The contest as a whole was very even, as Oklahoma made just one field goal more than Little Rock and had only six more rebounds. The Trojans out-assisted the Sooners 9-8, and the teams each had 15 turnovers. Oklahoma's biggest advantage was a 14-6 edge in made free throws.
Little Rock stays on the road for the third straight game on Saturday, heading to New York City to take on the Fordham Rams as part of the Preseason WNIT. Little Rock and Fordham are set for an 11 a.m. eastern tipoff at Rose Hill Gym.
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Georgia Southern Falls 58-47 at Clemson
CLEMSON, S.C. – Despite 22 points from senior Angel McGowan and a career-high nine rebounds by senior Alexis Sams, the Georgia Southern women's basketball team fell 58-47 on the road at Clemson Wednesday night inside Littlejohn Coliseum. The Eagles led 16-10 after the first quarter, but 20 turnovers hampered the Eagles' efforts down the stretch.
GS shot 34.6% (18-52) from the field, but the Eagles hit on just five of their 24 looks (20.8%) from three-point range. Georgia Southern was also 6-for-9 (66.7%) from the free throw line.
McGowan led all scorers with 22 points, six shy of her career high of 28. The senior from Greenville, S.C., playing with a strong contingent of family and friends in attendance, went 7-for-18 (38.9%) from the field and hit four three-pointers. The four treys were just one shy of her career high.
Patrice Butler saw her streak of consecutive games finishing in double figures come to an end after 11 games as she was the second-highest scorer for Georgia Southern with eight points. She was also second on the team with seven boards as Sams led the Eagles with her nine, three offensive and six off the defensive glass.
The Tigers shot just 32.8% (21-64) from the field, but didn't score any points in the final 4:47 of the game. Clemson received 40 points from its bench and scored 21 off the Eagles' 20 turnovers.
Three Tigers finished in double figures led by Kobi Thornton's 14 off the bench. The 6-2 freshman forward ended the night with a double-double as she also corralled in 11 rebounds. Also finishing in double-digit points were Victoria Cardaci and Aliyah Collier with 12 points each off the bench.
THE STORY
The two teams traded three-pointers in the opening minutes with McGowan hitting two to match Alexis Carter and Nelly Perry from Clemson. By the end of the first quarter, the Eagles held a 16-10 advantage, ending the stanza on a 7-3 run.
But the second quarter saw Clemson regroup and retake the lead with 3:20 left in the half. Despite the Eagles shooting 40.0% (4-10) from the field, they still trailed at the half, in part thanks to Clemson's 50.0% (9-18) shooting in the quarter.
The second half saw the Eagles able to hang with the Tigers for much of the half, however turnovers hampered the GS effort at a comeback.
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Chills Leads Trojans to Win Over Belmont
TROY, Alabama – Jayla Chills scored a career-high 21 points as the Troy women's basketball team defeated Belmont, 91-74, on Wednesday at Trojan Arena.
Chills scored seven of the team's first nine points and finished 9-for-20 from the field. She also turned in seven rebounds and five assists as the Trojans knocked off the Ohio Valley Conference preseason favorites.
Troy (1-1) led by as many as 29 in the fourth quarter but a late Bruin (1-2) run closed the gap. Senior Lauren Day (12 points) and junior Dajia Williams (11 points) also recorded career-highs. Williams was one rebound shy of her first double-double, her rebound total was also a career-high.
After taking an 8-point lead into the locker room, the Trojans exploded for 35 points in the third quarter behind 13-of-22 (59.1%) shooting including 3-pointers from Caitlyn Ramirez, Claresa Banks, Arjae' Saunders and Kayla Robinson.
For the second consecutive game, Troy collected 49 rebounds as a team, becoming the first team to beat the Bruins – a team that entered the contest with a +16.5 rebounding margin – on the boards this season.
STAT OF THE GAME
Troy reached the 80-point mark with 3:08 remaining in the contest, it was the 57th time the Trojans have scored 80-plus points in a game under head coach Chanda Rigby.
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PANTHERS OWN THE PAINT IN HOME OPENER
ATLANTA - Georgia State’s women’s basketball team used 66 points in the paint and 30 points off turnovers to win the home opener 96-58 over Allen (S.C.) Wednesday night at the GSU Sports Arena.
Graduate transfer Tiffany Holston recorded her first double-double at GSU with 16 points and 10 rebounds in just 20 minutes of play. Holston was one of five Panthers that finished in double figures as GSU clicked on all cylinders Wednesday night. Freshman Jada Lewis was second on the team with 15 points, followed by senior Alaysia Mitchell with 14. Sophomore Kierra Henry totaled 12 points and senior Haley Gerrin earned 11 to go with four rebounds. Mitchell missed a double-double by just one rebound while junior Kennesha Nichols played an all-around good game and recorded six points, six rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
“I was happy with our 21 assists. I thought we moved the ball around well,” head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener said. “There’s always room to get better, but overall I’m pleased with the way we competed tonight.”
All 12 players that recorded playing time tonight for Georgia State finished with at least two points. Freshman Shaquanda Miller-McCray made her GSU debut in the fourth quarter and earned two points to go with a block and three rebounds. Freshman Jaylyn Harrison made her first career start and also scored the first points of her career with a three that helped stretch GSU’s lead to 16 in the second quarter.
The Panthers consistently looked inside for points throughout the game to take advantage of the size advantage over the Lady Yellow Jackets. GSU outscored Allen in the paint 66-22 and outrebounded Allen 52-40. Georgia State’s ability to score inside helped the Panthers shoot 46% from the field. The stout defense held the Lady Yellow Jackets to just 31% shooting.
Georgia State continues its three-game home stand with a game against UNCW at the Sports Arena Sunday at 2 p.m.
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Red Wolves Rally Late, Fall Short at Austin Peay
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (11/16/16) – The Arkansas State women’s basketball team cut a 10-point deficit down to one with 33 seconds to go, but Austin Peay closed the game on a 6-0 run to hand the Red Wolves a 62-55 loss at the Dunn Center Wednesday evening.
A-State (0-2) trailed 56-46 with 3:10 to go in the game, but slowly began to chip away at the lead as the Governor’s (2-1) went over two minutes without a field goal.
Brittany Fowler cut the lead to six with a 3-pointer with 1:42 to go to get within 56-50 and Starr Taylor followed with a jumper from the corner with shot clock expiring to get within four with 46 seconds to go.
Fowler, who scored a career-high 17 points, hit her fifth trey of the night with 33 seconds to get within 56-55, but Austin Peay answered with a pair of free throws on the ensuing offensive possession to go up by three points.
A-State ran a play for Fowler to take a 3-pointer, but the attempt was blocked and the Governors controlled and hit four of six free throws in the final seconds to close out the game.
“One of the real positives is that you never know how teams are going to react in late game situations and I thought we handled it pretty well down the stretch,” A-State head coach Brian Boyer said. “We were able to run some things and get positive results and that was good to see and is something that we can build on.”
The Red Wolves led 43-42 at the end of the third quarter, but Austin Peay went on an 8-0 run to start the fourth to build a 50-43 edge. The lead grew to its largest point at 56-46 after a pair of free throws by Bri Williams before the Red Wolves made the comeback to get within one.
The game featured 14 lead changes and six ties and was even throughout most of the night. A-State shot 29.3 percent (17-of-58), while the Governors shot 37 percent (20-of-54). The Red Wolves made five, 3-pointers and grabbed 36 rebounds. The squad also finished with seven steals and two blocks.
“There was a lot of good today, but my biggest disappointment was that fourth quarter defensively,” Boyer said. “I don’t think physical fatigue is the problem, but more mental fatigue and I think it’s because people just aren’t used to play a lot, but otherwise I thought the first three quarters went pretty well.”
A scoring drought of over 3-plus minutes dominated most of the second quarter. Fowler, who led the squad with eight points in the opening half, knocked down a 3-pointer with 5:20 remaining in the half to go up 25-21.
The next bucket of the period would not come until the 1:49 mark when Austin Peay’s Sydney Gooch got a layup and was fouled. She missed the free throw opportunity, but the Governors grabbed the offensive board and were fouled again and made 1-of-2 free throws to close the gap to 25-24.
Tahlon Hopkins put the Red Wolves up 27-24 on a layup with 1:35 left, but the Governors finished the half on a 4-0 run, including a buzzer beater by Jacey Scott to give Austin Peay a 28-27 lead at the break.
Austin Peay finished with three players in double-figures, led by Shelbe Piggie and Williams with 11 each. Terra Banks scored 10 points.
A-State returns to action Saturday, Nov. 19 at Tennessee State. Tipoff is set for Noon from Nashville, Tenn.