#3/6 Bulldogs Blow Past Trojans
STARKVILLE, Miss. – No. 3/6 Mississippi State blew past Little Rock women's basketball by a score of 86-48 on Sunday at Humphrey Coliseum.
Three Trojans found themselves with double-digit point totals. Kyra Collier tallied 11 points, a team-high five rebounds and two assists. Monique Townson put up a season-high 11 points with four rebounds and an assist. Freshman Teal Battle finished with a career-high 10 points off the bench as she went 3-for-3 from the field and 4-for-4 from the foul line.
The Bulldogs (9-0) had four players in double figures as Morgan William led the game with 16 points and four assists. Teaira McCowan had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Victoria Vivians also had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Blair Schaefer was the fourth Bulldog in double figures with 10 points.
Mississippi State ended the first quarter with a 17-10 lead after shooting 8-for-17 (47.1%). The Trojans were 5-for-12 (41.7%) as Collier led the Trojans with four points. Down 15-4, Little Rock went on a 6-0 run with two jumpers by Collier and a jumper by Keanna Keys to cut the deficit to five. The Bulldogs ended the quarter with a seven-point lead after a jumper by Jazzmun Holmes.
The Bulldogs upped their lead to 43-28 at halftime after outscoring the Trojans 26-18 in the second quarter. Both sides had the same exact shooting percentage in the second quarter as they did in the first quarter, but Mississippi State was 2-for-4 from three and 8-for-10 from the foul line. Little Rock was 1-for-4 from three and 7-for-8 from the charity stripe. At the half, Keys led the Trojans with eight points after scoring six of her eight in the second quarter.
Little Rock had its worst quarter of the year in the third as Mississippi State outscored the Trojans 25-2. After both squads exchanged jumpers early in the period, the Bulldogs finished the quarter on a 23-0 run. Little Rock's two points in the quarter were the fewest since quarters were implemented in 2015-16.
The Trojans put up a fight in the fourth quarter by matching the Bulldogs' 18 points. Battle came off the bench and scored 10 consecutive points for Little Rock with three jumpers and four foul shots. The Trojans were 7-for-15 (46.7%) in the quarter — their best-shooting quarter of the game.
Little Rock finished the game shooting 34 percent (18-for-53) while Mississippi State shot 50 percent (33-for-66).
Little Rock will now have nearly a week to prepare for its next game against Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas, on Dec. 16., at 2 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN3.
UCF Hands GS Women's Basketball A 62-38 Road Loss On Sunday
ORLANDO, Fla. - The UCF women's basketball team held Georgia Southern women's basketball to just 25 percent shooting from the floor in picking up a 62-38 non-conference victory over the visiting Eagles at CFE Arena on Sunday afternoon in Orlando.
The Knights (5-4) have won three of their last four contests, while Georgia Southern (3-5) has dropped two straight. The Eagles return to Statesboro to begin a three-game Holdiay homestand on Friday, hosting in-state rival Kennesaw State at 11 a.m. at Hanner Fieldhouse.
Georgia Southern made just 14-of-56 shots form the floor and hit only 4-of-22 three-pointers (18.2 percent) as the Eagles were held under 40 points for a second time this season.
"The ball game came down to one thing," Head Coach Kip Drown said. "They made shots. Especially the 15 foot jump shot they kept knocking down on us. We've got to make shots, and that really hurt us today. We got to step up and make shots."
The Eagles missed their first 12 shots from the floor until freshman Tatum Barber canned a three-pointer with 1:18 left in the first quarter to halt an opening 11-0 run by the Knights. UCF took a 13-3 lead at the end of the first quarter, then stretched that lead to 19-3 before the Eagles got a basket from Alexis Foulks at the 6:11 mark that sparked a 17-11 run that lasted until halftime. Georgia Southern was 1-for-19 from the field before Foulks' basket, but the Eagles hit six of their next nine shots from the field in the run and trailed by 10, 30-20, at the break.
In the second half, Hailey Dias-Allen scored two quick baskets to cut the lead to six, 30-24, forcing a Knights time out. After a basket by UCF's Zakiya Saunders, Trellanie English-Lurry canned a three-pointer to make it a 32-27 lead with 7:27 left in the third quarter. UCF responded with a 14-0 run over the next six minutes to build a 46-29 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Knights closed out the win by outscoring the Eagles by a seven-point margin in the fourth.
"The one thing about this group I really like is that they battle," Coach Drown said. "They come to practice every day and get better. We're closer than we've ever been, I really believe that. I know it doesn't show up on the scoreboard today, but we did some good things today. We outrebounded them on the offensive glass [11-10] and they're a good rebounding team. We're gonna get there. We'll keep plugging away."
Alexis Foulks was the only Eagle player to reach double figures, scoring 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor and hitting both of her free throws. Rhein Beamon had six points and six rebounds, while Trellanie English-Lurry knocked down a pair of threes for six points. UCF was led by Saunders and Aliyah Gregory, who each notched 16 points.
PANTHERS TOP CRUSADERS 91-89 IN SUNDAY SHOWDOWN
ATLANTA - Georgia State's women's basketball team rallied from a 16-point deficit Sunday to defeat North Greenville 91-89 in the GSU Sports Arena.
Shay Fluker's 25 points led the Panthers and Kierra Henry added a career-high 20 points, including 12 in the final period to help the comeback. Shaq Miller-McCray totaled 12 rebounds, a new career mark, and Madison Newby finished with 11 points, six assists and five steals.
The Panthers led 29-20 after the first quarter, but North Greenville went on an impressive 18-2 run in the second period to take a 53-59 lead into halftime. The Crusaders used the 3-point shot to build a 16-point advantage in the third quarter. NGU totaled 15 3-pointers on 33 attempts for the game.
Georgia State owned the boards, outrebounding NGU 54-28.
Georgia State's 16-point comeback is the second double-digit rally this season. The Panthers came back from down 21 to defeat VCU back on Nov. 24.
Next up for the Panthers is a home game against FAU on Friday, Dec. 15 in the GSU Sports Arena.
Hot Start Takes Yellow Jackets By Lady Mavs
ATLANTA - Georgia Tech's hot shooting to open the game lifted the Yellow Jackets to an 80-52 victory over UT Arlington on Sunday at McCamish Pavilion.
The Yellow Jackets (9-1) knocked down 12 consecutive shots during a 19-0 run in the first, while UTA (5-4) was unable to find a rhythm offensively. Georgia Tech improved to 2-0 in the all-time series as the teams met for the first time since 2008.
Despite the slow first quarter, UTA responded during the next 20 minutes to outscore Georgia Tech, including a monster third quarter by Crystal Allen. Allen finished with a game-high 22 points to tie her career high of 22 scored against Oral Roberts on Nov. 13. Rebekah VanDijk came up just short of her third consecutive double-double, finishing with eight points and eight rebounds. Laurynn McGowen finished with nine points, one short of her season high.
UTA gets a seven-day break between games as it closes out its three-game road trip – all against Power 5 opponents – on Sunday Dec. 17 at Arkansas. The Lady Mavs then close out nonconference play at College Park Center on Dec. 21 against San Francisco.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter: UTA's offense continued to have issues taking care of the ball, turning it over 11 times during the opening period. Georgia Tech took advantage with hot shooting, knocking down 12 consecutive shots during the middle of a 19-0 run and led 27-6 after the opening 10 minutes. The Lady Mavs were just 3-for-13 in the first, while GT hit 12 of 16 shots taken.
Second Quarter: The Lady Mavs improved their ball control in the second quarter as neither team's offense could match the defensive play in the quarter. Both teams went for stretches of more than three minutes without field goals, including five minutes from the Yellow Jackets without a made shot before a 3-pointer by GT's Francesca Pan. Georgia Tech closed the quarter with just one field goal in nine tries as it outscored UTA just 14-13 in the frame.
Third Quarter: The third stanza was all Allen as the senior poured in 16 points, including back-to-back trips down the floor with 3-pointers. The Lady Mavs also found their shot, knocking down 37.5 percent. Down by 24 points, UTA cut the lead down to 16 before back-to-back buckets fell for Georgia Tech to hold a 20-point advantage going to the final 10.
Fourth Quarter: With momentum on the Lady Mavs' side going to the fourth, Georgia Tech took a final grasp of the game with an 8-0 run early in the fourth to build up its lead beyond 20 points. UTA helped the Jackets along with three turnovers during the stretch.
KEY STATS: Georgia Tech shot 54.1 percent to UTA's 29.8... UTA turned the ball over 22 times, including 14 in the first quarter... UTA outscored Georgia Tech 32-31 between the second and third quarters... Allen's 22-point game was her fifth of the season with 15 points or more and sixth double-digit scoring game.