Little Rock Stuns Tulsa with late Comeback
TULSA, Okla. – The Little Rock women's basketball team trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half, but an offensive and defensive resurgence allowed the Trojans to storm back for a 63-58 victory over Tulsa at the Donald W. Reynolds Center on Sunday afternoon.
Tulsa (4-8) shot nearly 47 percent from the field in the first half and took a 33-22 lead into the break. But Little Rock (6-5) held the Golden Hurricane to just 37 percent from the field in the second half while outscoring Tulsa 41-25 in the final 20 minutes.
Kyra Collier scored a career-high 15 points and more than doubled her career high in rebounds with 17 for her first collegiate double-double. Sharde' Collins tied for the team lead in scoring with 15 points, and Kaitlyn Pratt added 15 points as well and nine rebounds. Ronjanae DeGray was Little Rock's fourth double-digit scorer, putting up 10 points.
Little Rock's 63 points were the most it has scored all season, and Sunday marked the first time this year that Little Rock had four players reach double-figure scoring.
The Trojans also dominated the Hurricane on the boards, pulling down 51 total rebounds to Tulsa's 32. That margin included a 21-5 edge for Little Rock on the offensive glass. Little Rock last recorded more than 50 rebounds against Incarnate Word on Dec. 10, 2013.
For nearly two thirds of the game, things appeared to be destined for a Tulsa win. But Little Rock completely turned things around midway through the third quarter. Tulsa led 45-34 with 5:21 to play, but Little Rock closed the period on an 8-2 run to make the Hurricane's lead a manageable 47-42 entering the fourth.
It took the Trojans another five minutes of chipping away at Tulsa's lead before they finally broke through, but a Collins jumper with 4:29 remaining finally put Little Rock ahead for the first time all game. Tulsa's red-hot shooting dried up in the period as the team went just 4 of 15 from the floor.
In the fourth quarter, Collins scored 6 points and Pratt added 7. Collier added 4 points of her own as Little Rock went 7 of 14 from the field in the fourth quarter.
Tulsa began the game on a 9-0 run before a pair of Collier free throws 4:30 into the game got the Trojans on the board. The Trojans got within one at 19-18 early in the second quarter by scoring its first 4 points, but the Hurricane followed with a 12-0 run and entered halftime leading 33-22.
Carolee Dillard scored 4 points for Little Rock, recording her first points since 2013. Monique Townson had a team-high four assists in 38 minutes. The Trojans scored 34 points in the paint.
The Trojans play one more non-conference game this season on Wednesday, squaring off against the Tigers of LSU. Little Rock and LSU are set for a 7 p.m. tip at the Maravich Center.
Late Surge Propels UAB Past Troy
TROY, Alabama – UAB’s Kara Rawls made a layup off an inbound play with 23 seconds left to give Blazers a 78-77 advantage that led to an 81-77 victory over the Troy women’s basketball team on Sunday at Trojan Arena.
The Trojans (6-3) led 77-76 with 2:27 remaining but missed two shots and turned the ball over twice before UAB (5-4) made the game-winning shot. Troy shot 37.5 percent for the game and made just one of its first 12 shots. Behind 17 points and 15 rebounds from senior Caitlyn Ramirez, her fifth career double-double, the Trojans opened a seven-point lead with 8:17 to play in the contest; UAB then outscored the home side 22-11 to close the game.
Five Blazers scored in double figure while Ramirez and Dajia Williams (13 points) were the only Trojans to reach double-digits.
UP NEXT
Troy travels to face off against SEC power Tennessee on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. and will be streamed on SECNetwork+ (WatchESPN).
STAT GEEK
UAB entered the contest averaging just 12.5 turnovers per game, but handed the ball over 27 times on Sunday. Troy scored 31 points off Blazer turnovers and is now forcing its opponents into 21.4 turnovers per game.
Balanced Attack Improves UTA To 7-2
ARLINGTON, Texas – UTA shook off the rust of a seven-day break with an impressive, 80-50, win over Texas A&M-Commerce on Sunday at College Park Center, achieving its best nonconference start since the 2008-09 season.
The Lady Mavericks (7-2) had a balanced attack that featured eight players with at least five points or more, led by reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week Rebekah VanDijk. VanDijk finished with 16 points on 6-9 shooting, adding four from the charity stripe. Shelby Richards and Aysia Evans joined VanDijk in the double-digit club as each had 12 points.
Several milestones were achieved in the contest as VanDijk swatted away three shots to move into fourth in the UTA all-time record books with 118 in her career. She also surpassed the 900-point mark, now with 906. With her six rebounds, she moved by Allison Gray for ninth in career marks as VanDijk has 650.
Ericka Mattingly had an impressive performance, also adding three blocks (the first three of her career). Allyson Te'o joined in on the party with three, a career-high for the fourth-year player.
UTA opened up the contest as it flipped the switch in comparison to the last home contest. This time around UTA opened up a 23-9 first quarter lead sparked by Cierra Johnson, scoring eight of her nine overall points in the frame. UTA turned the Lions over eight times in the first and turned it into a 12-0 advantage in points off turnovers.
TAMU-Commerce settled in during the second quarter but UTA's rhythm continued. This time it was Christina Devers that led the attack with eight points of her own, including two 3-pointers and 3-of-4 shooting.
VanDijk came alive in the third with an impressive 5-of-5 shooting to score 12 of UTA's 26 points of the quarter. The Lady Mavs shot a game best 44.8 percent in the period.
The Lions had their best performance in the final stanza, as they'd outscore the Lady Mavs 16-10. UTA turned the ball over eight times in the final minutes, but it was not enough for TAMU-C as the trailed by 38 entering the quarter.
KEY STATS
UTA outrebounded the Lions 52-33 as six players grabbed at least five boards. Cierra Johnson combined with Allyson Te'o for a game-high of eight – Johnson had six on the offensive end. UTA outscored the Lions 40-18 in points in the paint.
UPCOMING GAME
The Lady Mavericks close their nonconference slate at Texas Tech on Thursday. UTA coach Krista Gerlich played at Tech and won the 1993 National Championship as a Red Raider. The game tips at 2 p.m.