Boyer Earns Career Win No. 300 in Victory Over Tulsa
JONESBORO, Ark. (12/6/16) – Jada Ford had a career high 23 points and Dominque Oliver added 16 points to lead Arkansas State women’s basketball to an 83-80 win over Tulsa for the 300th career victory for head coach Brian Boyer.
The Red Wolves were 9-of-16 from 3-point range on the game with Ford hitting 5-of-7 and Oliver hitting 3-of-4. Tahlon Hopkins had eight points and helped the Red Wolves out-rebound Tulsa 42-40 with a career high 11 boards. A-State shot 42.4 percent (28-66) from the floor and finished a season best 18-of-21 (85.7 percent) from the charity stripe.
“Obviously glad to get the win,” said Boyer. “One of the things that is a relief, is that we did a lot of good things today and that would have been a tough locker room to walk into if you had played that hard and you don’t come out on top. I’m glad things worked out in the end and we made some big plays down the stretch and we were able to hold on.”
The first quarter featured a 7-0 run by A-State after Tulsa scored the first four points of the night, but the Golden Hurricane answered with a 8-0 run of their own to lead 15-7. Tulsa built a 21-14 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 13-point lead, 29-16, with 8:54 left in the half, but A-State refused to go away.
The Red Wolves outscored the visitors 27-9 to build a 43-38 by halftime. Ford scored 10 of her 23 points in the second quarter to spark the Red Wolves, who had a season best 43 points in the first half. A-State finished the first half on a 13-2 run with Ford draining the go-ahead 3-pointer with 43 seconds on the clock.
A-State was solid in the third quarter, hitting 4-of-4 from 3-point range to stave off any chance of a rally by Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane were able to tie the game at 49 midway through the third quarter, but Oliver hit a corner trey to spark an 11-2 run as the Red Wolves built a nine-point advantage.
The Red Wolves led 66-60 at the end of the third quarter and built an 11-point lead with 5:44 remaining. Tulsa dwindled the Red Wolves lead to 81-80 behind a 14-4 run, but missed a potential go-ahead layup with 40 seconds remaining. Starr Taylor knocked down a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left to set the final score of 83-80. A-State was able to rebound the Golden Hurricane attempt of a game-tying three with five seconds left.
The Red Wolves return to action Sunday, December 11 against No. 22 South Florida. Tip-off is set for 2:00 inside the Convocation Center.
No. 3 Baylor Upends Texas State
WACO, Texas – Texas State University women’s basketball fell by a 90-24 final to third-ranked Baylor Tuesday evening at the Lady Bears’ Ferrell Center.
Six Lady Bears reached double-figures as Baylor improved to 10-1 on the season. Alexis Prince, Natalie Chou, Kalani Brown each scored 15, Nina Davis and Beatrice Mompremier both poured in 12 and Lauren Cox finished with 11.
Taeler Deer led the Bobcats (3-4) in the scoring column for the second consecutive game with her 10 points on four makes, including two 3-pointers. Zandra Emanuel pulled down a team-high five rebounds.
The Bobcats, which entered the game ranked second in the Sun Belt Conference forcing 19.3 turnovers per game, turned the Lady Bears over 18 times – four more than Baylor’s season average of 13.9.
Texas State hung right with the No. 3-ranked Lady Bears throughout the opening quarter of play. Ti’Aira Pitts opened the Bobcats’ scoring with her fourth 3-pointer of the season, trimming Baylor’s early lead to 5-3. Brooke Holle later cuts Baylor’s lead to 13-10 with a triple of her own, but the Lady Bears answered with seven of the game’s next nine points to close the quarter with a 20-12 advantage.
Baylor took advantage of two quick Bobcat turnovers in the early stages of the second quarter to go on a 7-0 run and build a 27-12 lead. Texas State outscored the Lady Bears 5-4 over the next three minutes as Deer knocked down a triple and Pitts banked in a shot off the glass. Baylor would stymie any Bobcat momentum coming out of the under-5 media timeout with a 7-0 run in less than a minute of play. The Lady Bears continued their scoring run with the game’s ensuing nine points to put separation on the scoreboard. Deer closed the half’s scoring with a driving layup, sending the teams into the intermission with Baylor leading 47-19.
Baylor forced eight Texas State turnovers and outscored the Bobcats 28-3 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
Texas State returns to the friendly confines of Strahan Coliseum this Saturday (Dec. 10) for the first time since mid-November. The Bobcats will face St. Edward’s at 2 p.m. in the first game of a doubleheader with men’s team, which welcomes Prairie View A&M at 4 p.m.