Saturday, February 13
A-State continues Historic Run with Win over ULM
MONROE, La. (2/13/16) – The Arkansas State women’s basketball team’s historic run continued Saturday afternoon with a 78-64 victory over Louisiana-Monroe at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
With the victory, A-State captured the best start in school history at 20-3 and tied a school record with its 14 consecutive win to remain undefeated in Sun Belt Conference play.
“It was never our goal to be 20-3 and win 14 straight,” A-State head coach Brian Boyer said. “Our goal is to win the conference tournament and get to the NCAA Tournament, but when you look back when this all said and done this is a pretty cool deal. When you look back at the history of women’s basketball at Arkansas State, no other team could do this and this is something this team should be proud of.”
Khadija Brown-Haywood tied a career-high with 29 points and grabbed seven boards to pace the Red Wolves (20-3, 14-0 SBC), who have now won 20 games for the 12th in their history and for the sixth time in the Boyer era.
The senior from Centralia, Ill., dominated in the first half and helped the Red Wolves to a 38-25 advantage at the break. She scored eight points in the game’s first three minutes and finished the opening 20 minutes with 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting and added five rebounds.
Arkansas State used a 12-0 in the first quarter to build a 22-9 advantage, which included six points from Brown-Haywood.
ULM (9-14, 3-11) went scoreless for over four minutes during the A-State, including a 0-6 stint from the field and turned the ball over three times.
Jessica Flanery helped A-State jump out to an 8-0 lead with a 3-pointer from the corner that gave A-State a 35-16 advantage. Brown-Haywood added a 3-pointer with 3:48 remaining to give her a team-high 19 points, but ULM closed the half on a 7-0 run and held A-State scoreless for the final 3:48 to close within 38-25.
Flanery finished the game with 14 points, including four 3-pointers, while Aundrea Gamble added 12 points and six assists. Lauren Bradshaw just missed tying a career-high with 11 points, and also pulled down six rebounds.
The Warhawks cut the deficit to 41-31 early in the third quarter, but the Red Wolves responded with a 7-0 that was capped with a 3-pointer by Flanery to swing the moment back in A-State’s favor.
ULM used a 7-0 run to get within 11 near the end of the period, but Gamble took control and beat her defender off the dribble for a layup as time expired to push the lead back to 56-43 to all but end the ULM comeback.
Bradshaw, who made the first start of her career, was efficient in her 22 minutes of work and knocked down 5-of-8 shots she took on the afternoon.
A-State shot 55.8 percent (29-of-52) from the field and also made 12-of-15 (80 percent) free throws. ULM shot 47.1 percent (24-of-51), but committed 19 turnovers on the afternoon.
A-State will return to action Thursday, Feb. 18 for a two-game swing through the state of Georgia with a 4 p.m. matchup at Georgia Southern.
Little Rock Takes Over Second Place in Standings after Beating UL Lafayette
LAFAYETTE, La. – The Little Rock women's basketball team was in ninth place in the Sun Belt standings after its last meeting with Louisiana. Now the Trojans are in second.
Little Rock (12-11, 10-4 Sun Belt Conference) earned a hard-fought 58-49 victory over Louisiana (16-7, 9-5) at the Cajundome on Saturday afternoon, taking sole possession of second place in the league standings in the process.
The Trojans have now won seven consecutive games and are six games above .500 in Sun Belt play. The Trojans are also above .500 overall for the first time all season.
Little Rock can thank its big winning streak and Saturday's victory to stellar defensive efforts. The Trojans held the Cajuns to 37 percent shooting in the game, and they kept guard Keke Veal to just 12 points after she scored 30 in the Jack Stephens Center in early January.
Shanity James earned her second consecutive double-double, scoring a team-high 22 points and adding 12 rebounds. James was 8 of 11 from the field. Kaitlyn Pratt also had a huge night offensively, scoring 19 while pulling down seven rebounds. Pratt shot 7 of 13 from the field. Together, their 41 points accounted for nearly 71 percent of Little Rock's offense.
Saturday's contest was tight throughout, with neither team holding a lead larger than 6 points until the fourth quarter. That was Little Rock's advantage entering the final period, but the Cajuns quickly cut that lead to just 2 points at 41-39 with 7:39 to play.
Little Rock picked that moment to go on a 6-0 run to make it a 47-41 lead, but the Cajuns were not going away easy. Louisiana scored 6 of the next 8 points, closing the gap to 2 points yet again at 49-47 with 2:43 to play.
Little Rock would score next, getting a layup from Pratt with 1:29 to play and taking a 51-47 lead. Veal missed a jumper on the Cajuns' next possession, and Little Rock expanded the lead to 4 points with two Alexius Dawn free throws – her only points of the game – to make it 53-47 with 42 seconds to play.
Pratt, James and Kira Shepard combined for the final five free throws and the Trojans took its largest lead of the game right before the buzzer.
Little Rock closed the game by making 5 of its 8 field goals in the fourth and going 9 of 10 from the free-throw line.
The Trojans managed to survive a game that saw them turn the ball over 17 times and that saw the Cajuns score 18 points off those turnovers. Louisiana, though, had 15 turnovers of its own that resulted in 13 Little Rock points.
The first quarter's defensive battle set the tone for the rest of the night. Little Rock led 9-7 at the end of the period, and the teams combined for just 6 of 22 from the field and 11 turnovers.
The second quarter saw more of the same with low shooting percentages, tight defense and plenty of turnovers. Little Rock took a 15-11 lead midway through the quarter, but Louisiana fought back with a 6-0 run to take a 17-15 lead. Little Rock scored 4 of the quarter's final 6 points, though, and the teams were tied at 19-19 heading into halftime. James led all scorers with 9 at the break.
The teams' offenses picked up considerably in the third quarter. In the first five minutes, James scored the first 7 points for the Trojans and Pratt added 3 more on an and-1 layup. But Louisiana got 10 points of its own, and the teams were tied 29-29 at the media timeout. From there, the Little Rock offense stayed in rhythm, scoring 10 more points before the quarter ended. Monique Townson hit a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded – the only 3-pointer for either team in the entire game – and Little Rock led 39-35 entering the fourth. James had 19 points in the first three quarters.
Besides James and Pratt's big scoring nights, the Trojans got 7 points from Townson, 4 points from Shepard and 2 each from Dawn, Sharde' Collins and Keanna Keys. Collins had 4 rebounds, and Pratt led the Trojans with two blocks.
James scored her 1,200th career point during the game, and Pratt got her 200th career offensive rebound. Dawn picked up her 100th career steal.
The Trojans will stay on the road next week, heading to Georgia State on Thursday and Georgia Southern on Saturday. The game against the Panthers is first on Thursday and is set for a 4 p.m. central tipoff.
Jaguars Use Late Rally to Defeat Georgia Southern
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team trailed by seven midway through the fourth quarter, but used a 10-0 run to rally back and pick up its fourth-straight home win Saturday afternoon as the Jaguars defeated Georgia Southern, 48-45 at the Mitchell Center in the program's annual "Pink Game".
"It was really good to come out with the win, even when we didn't play well," South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler said. "I continue to tell the team, that good teams win even when they don't play well. I was proud of the fact that we were able to do that. It was disappointing how we came out. I felt like we didn't have the energy, and we only focused on the scout. Yet when it came time that we had to have stops, and we had to pick up our energy, our young ladies answered the challenge. Those are signs of a team that grows up. It's easy to stay in that state of mind and fold, but we battled, fought and took a lot of pride in winning at home."
The four-game home win streak is the first for the program since the 2012-13 season. It is also the first four-game home conference win streak since the 2011-12 campaign.
The Jaguars (11-12, 7-7 SBC) will close out its three-game homestand against in-state conference foe Troy. Tip-off versus the Trojans is set for 5 p.m. at the Mitchell Center. Live stats 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.
With the win, South Alabama has now won five of its last seven games and are tied with Troy for fifth in the league standings.
Marquita Daniels continued her strong play of late with a team-high 16 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Daniels also had six free throws and four steals in 32 minutes of action. The 5-7 guard has recorded double figures in six of her last seven games and over the last two she has also added 10 steals.
"Ever since [Marquita Daniels] has come back and started to play well, it has generated on the offensive end," Fowler stated. "She's gotten more steals and been more active on that end of the floor. We're seeing the results transferring over with the steals, and we're pushing a little bit more on rebounds as well."
Colby Davis just missed double digits, finishing with nine points, while Juliann Miller chipped in with eight and Taylor Jenkins added seven. Chyna Ellis led the club on the glass with a game-high eight rebounds, while also registering three blocks.
With her three blocks, Ellis moved past former Jag LaSandra Jenkins (62 – 1983-84) and into a tie for second with Genevieve Delk (65 – 2003-04) for second on South Alabama's single-season blocks chart. The 6-2 sophomore center has now had two or more blocks in 20 of her 23 games this season, including each of the last 16.
The loss for Georgia Southern (7-16, 4-10 SBC) was the Eagles' fifth in their last six outings. Patrice Butler led the club with 13 points, but the junior post player was held to just two points and just three shot attempts in the second half.
Angel McGowan and Alexis Sams also ended the contest in double figures with 10 points apiece. McGowan was just 4-of-15 from the field, including 1-of-8 from the three-point line by the Jag defense. McGowan had 26 points and five three-pointers in the first meeting between the two clubs earlier this season in Statesboro. She also had six of the Eagles' 20 turnovers.
After the Jaguars opened up the game with a bucket, Georgia Southern scored on five of its first six possessions and took a 10-6 lead following a jumper by McGowan with just over six minutes into the contest. McGowan and P. Butler combined to record eight of the Eagles' first 10 points.
South Alabama fought its way back and claimed its first lead of the afternoon at 11-10 when Ellis grabbed a missed free throw and laid the ball back off the glass.
P. Butler didn't let the lead last long as she came back with four quick points for GSU and put the visitors back out in front (14-11) with back-to-back buckets. Butler had eight of the Eagles points in the quarter as she hit four of her first six shots.
USA trimmed the deficit to one (14-13) at the end of the quarter as Miller knocked down a pair of free throws with 36.5 showing on the clock. Free-throw shooting kept the Jaguars in it in the first as they were 7-for-8 at the line and just 3-for-10 from the field.
In the second quarter, Georgia Southern used the three-point shot to extend their lead out to double during the first six-plus minutes of the period. Sams and Sierra Butler each knocked down a pair and then P. Butler connected from the left wing at the 4:49 mark to put GSU up 29-21. Coming out of the under five media time out, S. Butler sank a pair of free throws to extend the Eagle advantage out to 31-21.
Jenkins' jumper with three minutes, 55 seconds remaining before the half would cut the deficit to 31-23 and be the final points for either team in the first half.
Three-point shooting was the key stat during the first 20 minutes of action as the Eagles had five treys, and USA was held to 0-of-5 shooting from outside the arc.
Georgia Southern was also 12-of-26 from the field for 46.2 percent, while South Alabama was 8-of-24 for 33.3 percent. P. Butler led all scorers with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
Coming out of the intermission, South Alabama quickly got itself back into the game as the Jags scored the first seven points of the third. Ellis recorded a pair of buckets to ignite the scoring and with seven minutes, 12 seconds showing on the clock, Daniels drained USA's first three of the afternoon from the left wing to trim the deficit to one (31-30).
On Georgia Southern's ensuing possession, P. Butler ended a string of nine-straight missed shots by the Eagles and was their first points since midway through the second quarter.
With just under six minutes remaining in the third, Daniels hit one of her two attempts at the charity stripe to cut the deficit to two, but those would be the final points of the period for the Jaguars. Over the last five minutes, 55 seconds of the frame, USA was 0-for-7 from the field with three turnovers.
Briana Jones ended a nearly four-minute offensive drought for both teams with a jumper with less than two to go in the third. On the Eagles next trip down the floor, Sams drove the middle of the lane for a layup to put GSU up 37-31.
In the fourth, South Alabama held GSU scoreless for the first two-plus minutes of the quarter and cut the Eagle lead to 37-35 after a three by Daniels and Jenkins' one of two showing at the charity stripe.
Georgia Southern though would regain control over the next two minutes and extend its lead back out to seven (44-37) on a trey by McGowan from the right corner at the 6:01 mark of the fourth.
Following McGowan's bucket, the Jaguar defense would stiffen, holding GSU scoreless over the next five minutes and to just one point for the remainder of the game. Over the final six minutes of the game, USA's defense held the Eagles to 0-for-7 shooting and forced three turnovers.
The Jaguars would take advantage of their defense and over a four-and-a-half minute stretch, South Alabama would reclaim the lead for good and rattle off a 10-0 run. Jenkins began the scoring for the Jags with a jumper inside the paint at the 5:37 mark. After a pair of free throws by Daniels, Miller found Davis open in the right corner for a three to tie the game up at 44-44 with three minutes, 45 seconds remaining in regulation.
A minute later, Daniels put the Jaguars up one as she hit one of two at the line, then with just over two minutes showing on the clock, Jenkins knocked down another jumper when Daniels found the senior open just inside the foul line, extending USA's lead to 47-44.
After a McGowan free throw with less than a minute to go – GSU's first points in five minutes – Daniels was fouled and looked to make it a two possession game. The sophomore guard though hit just one of two at the line with 31.3 showing on the clock, giving the Eagles one final chance to tie.
GSU would have two opportunities in the closing seconds, but the Jags never allowed an open look. Ellis blocked the first three-pointer by the Eagles and then Sams missed another. Georgia Southern came up with the offensive rebound, but didn't get another look as Jenkins stole the ball from S. Butler before she could get a shot off in the right corner.
After shooting well during the first 20 minutes, Georgia Southern struggled to find its offensive touch over the final two quarters, scoring just 14 points and hitting just five of its 25 shot attempts in the second half for 20 percent. The Eagles were also just 1-of-12 from the three-point line after halftime.
Troy Women Race to Second Straight Win
TROY, Alabama – The Troy women's basketball team grabbed its second straight win, leading wire-to-wire in an 89-78 win over Georgia State in Troy's annual Play 4Kay game on Saturday at Trojan Arena.
Just two nights after they combined for 50 points, Ashley Beverly Kelley and ArJae' Saunders combined for 52 points as Troy (12-11, 7-7) completed the season sweep of Georgia State. The two also combined for 15 rebounds as Troy dominated on the glass, outrebounding GSU, 52-37, for a season-high plus-16 rebounds margin.
Beverly Kelley scored 29 on 10-of-19 shooting, including scored 14 in the fourth quarter, with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Saunders scored 23, including 9-of-15 free throws, with eight rebounds.
La'Tia Fils-Aime' also scored in double figures with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting and chipped in six rebounds. Kristen Emerson started and grabbed eight rebounds to tie with Saunders for game-high honors.
"I though we had another great effort rebounding, especially from our guards," Troy head coach Chanda Rigby said. "To me, rebounding is the tale of the tape as to why we are being successful right now, that and hitting shots."
Troy tied a season high with 12 3-pointers in Thursday's win over Georgia Southern, and fell just one shy of that with 11 against Georgia State, including five in the first quarter as the Trojans began to build a lead.
The Trojans then held Georgia State (9-14, 4-10) to 3-of-18 shooting in the second quarter, outscored the Panthers 15-6, and took a 41-27 lead into the break. The lead grew to as many as 20 points early in the third quarter, but Georgia State fought back and got within 10, 68-58, on the first basket of the fourth quarter.
That is when Beverly Kelley, the Sun Belt's leading scorer, took over. The senior hit two 3-pointers and converted a 3-point play, all in the first three minutes of the fourth, to thwart any Georgia State comeback. In all, Beverly Kelley scored 14 points in the fourth quarter on 4-of-5 shooting, 2-of-3 from deep and 4-of-5 from the line.
Beverly Kelley not only scored 20 points for the fourth straight game, but moved her career total to 1,784 and into 22nd place on the Sun Belt's all-time scoring list.
Beverly Kelley's three 3-pointers on the night were match by Amanda Mendoza who went 3-of-4, but topped by Saunders connected on 4-of-10 just two nights after hitting 6-of-8 against Georgia Southern. Saunders scored over 20 points for the third straight game.
Troy came into the game sixth in the NCAA in scoring at 82.4 points per game and upped the average. The Trojans came in fifth in the NCAA, forcing 23.0 turnovers per game, but saw that average. In fact, Georgia State with 14 turnovers was just the second opponent to have less than 16 against Troy this season.
Troy committed 21 turnovers itself, but rebounded well enough to mask those mistakes.
Troy shot 41 percent (28-of-69) and saw that percentage drop late as the Trojans didn't make a field goal over the final 5:12 of the game. However, Troy went to the free throw line eight times over that span, finishing the game 22-of-32 from the line. Troy finished 11-of-31 from deep.
Georgia State shot 41 percent (31-of-75) as well on the night, aided by an 18-of-36 (50 percent) showing in the second half. The Panthers were ice cold from deep, hitting just 12 percent (2-of-17).
Makeba Ponder, Georgia State's leading scorer and 3-point shooter, was just 3-of-16 from the floor and 2-of-10 from deep for eight points. Haley Gerrin led the way for Georgia State with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Madison Newby added 12 points and 14 assists for GSU.
Troy now faces a quick turnaround and a Tuesday road trip to take on in-state rival South Alabama. The Jaguars came from behind to beat Georgia Southern on Saturday and have won two straight and five of their last seven.
Lady Mavs Nab Fourth Consecutive
ARLINGTON, Texas – In its first game at College Park Center since Jan. 23, the streaking UT Arlington women's basketball team finished strong for a 65-58 victory over Appalachian State on Saturday.
The Lady Mavericks (12-11 overall, 7-6 Sun Belt) are over .500 for the first time since Jan. 7 with their fourth consecutive win, the longest streak of the season. UTA is one win away from the program's 600th. The Mavs are now 4-0 all-time against Appalachian State (8-15, 5-9), with two wins in Arlington.
LaShanda Green bested her career-high with 25 points. The senior was 6-12 from the floor, 5-9 from 3-point range, and downed all eight free throws. Green totaled 16 points in the first half.
Cierra Johnson's 10 assists are a career-high and most in a UTA game since 2005 - tied for eighth in UTA single-game history. Johnson's defensive effort included five rebounds and four steals. Morgan Hunt shot 5-8 from the field and 4-4 at the charity stripe. Hunt penned 14 points and six rebounds. Rebekah VanDijk added 13 points and six rebounds.
Green was a catalyst for UTA's offensive momentum in the opening minutes. The senior was 3-4 from 3-point range and contributed 11 points to the Mavs' two-point lead at the end of the quarter (21-19). The Mountaineers had two turnovers and had yet to attempt a 3-pointer.
Down 31-25 in the second quarter, a pair of treys from Green and Amara Wainwright tied the ballgame at 31-31 with 29 seconds to play in the half. A steal by Green in the remaining seconds couldn't be converted and an Appalachian State jumper with two seconds left sent the Mountaineers to the locker room up 33-31.
Green opened the second half with her fifth 3-pointer of the game before Appalachian State went on a 10-4 run to take a 43-38 advantage with less than five minutes on the clock. Two VanDijk free throws off of an Appalachian State foul brought UTA within one late in the third quarter.
The Mountaineers continued to press harder and a couple of defensive fouls kept the Mavericks close behind. Another pair of made frees from Johnson put the Mavs up 61-58 with less than two to play.
Turning Point
An Appalachian State turnover with 5:13 to play in the fourth quarter was converted into a layup by LeJune, which earned the Mavericks a 56-55 lead. The advantage was UTA's first since the beginning of the third quarter.
Key Stats
UTA shot 31.6 percent from 3-point range to Appalachian State's 12.5. … The Mavs were 21-22 at the free throw line. … UTA picked up 17 points off of the Mountaineers' 18 turnovers. … UTA added 16 points off the bench. … The lead changed 15 times throughout the game.
Notable
UTA swept the two-game season series from App State. The Mavs won 76-45 on the road on Jan. 7. ... UTA coach Krista Gerlich received a ceremonial game ball at halftime of the men's game for winning her 200th career game at Texas State on Tuesday.
Up Next
The Mavericks host Louisiana at College Park Center 11:30 a.m. Thursday as the second of a three-game homestand. UTA concludes its stay against Louisiana-Monroe at 5 p.m. Saturday.