Defense And Program-Record Shooting Lead Bobcats Over Little Rock
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State women’s basketball held Little Rock to less than 50 points and shot north of 60 percent to deal the Trojans their first Sun Belt Conference defeat of the season by a 64-47 margin in the program’s annual Play 4Kay game Saturday afternoon at Strahan Coliseum.
Texas State, which has won seven of its last eight, improved to 13-10 on the season and 8-4 in Sun Belt play. Little Rock, who entered the contest with a 12-0 mark against league competition, falls to 18-7 overall (12-1 Sun Belt).
The Bobcats shot an all-time program-best 62.2 percent from the field, knocking down 28 of 45 attempts, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range. Taeler Deer, who also paced the Bobcats with seven rebounds, led the way with 16 points, making 7 of 9 shots and two free throws. Kaitlin Walla joined Deer in double-digit with 13 as she made six of her nine shots.
Texas State outscored Little Rock 28-16 in the paint, 27-16 in bench points and outrebounded the Trojans 28-27.
Little Rock was led by Kyra Collier’s 10 points. Collier and Carolee Dillard each finished with six rebounds. The Trojans concluded the contest shooting 34.5 percent (19-of-55) from the floor.
Little Rock led 6-2 early in the first quarter; however, an 8-2 burst on a jumper and free throws by Deer and back-to-back scores by Ericka May pushed the Bobcats ahead 10-8. Collier knotted the game at 10 moments later, but scores by Erin Peoples and Deer gave TXST a 14-10 lead after 10 minutes of play.
Texas State created separation in the second quarter, outscoring the Trojans 24-7 in the frame en route to a 38-17 halftime lead. LR’s Kira Shepard opened the quarter with a layup that was immediately answered by an Amber Jones score inside that sparked the Bobcats to a 24-5 run the rest of the way. Five different Bobcats scored during the run, including run-defining threes by Toshua Leavitt and Walla.
The Bobcats closed the first half shooting 70.8 percent (17 of 24), while utilizing its top-notch defense to hold Little Rock to 8 of 25 from the field.
Texas State led 56-38 through three quarters after Leavitt closed the stanza with a shot high off the glass and the accompanying free throw. Little Rock had trimmed the Bobcats’ lead to 53-38 with an 8-2 run during the two minutes before Leavitt’s circus shot.
Lurry, De’Jionae Calloway and Deer combined for the fourth quarter’s opening six points, which staked TXST game-high 24-point lead at 62-38. The Trojans made thee 3-pointers down the stretch, but they could get no closer than 15 as the Bobcats went on for their eighth home win of the season.
PANTHERS COMPLETE COMEBACK WITH IMPRESSIVE FOURTH QUARTER
BOONE, N.C. - Winning its fifth game in the last six contests, Georgia State’s women’s basketball team rallied from a double-digit deficit Saturday to defeat Appalachian State 59-55 in Boone.
Down 11 in the third quarter, the Panthers outscored the Mountaineers 21-12 in the fourth quarter to pull off the comeback. Georgia State was led by Tiffany Holston who scored 14 points and had four rebounds, a block and a steal. Makeba Ponder made three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points and Jada Lewis tallied 11 points including two free throws in the final minute.
Appalachian State led for nearly 30 minutes Saturday, but GSU’s late run gave them the lead when it counted. With 31 seconds to go, Haley Gerrin hit a pair of free throws to put GSU up 56-55. App State missed a jumped and K.K. Williams grabbed the rebound with eight seconds remaining. Williams made one free throw to put GSU up two and the Mountaineers drew a foul with just four seconds to go. The first FT shot bounced out and the Mountaineers missed the second shot, looking to get an offensive board. It was Lewis that snuck in and came out with the ball, however, and she would hit both her free throws to give the Panthers the 59-55 advantage.
Entering the day, GSU and App were tied in the conference standings, each with a 5-7 record. With GSU’s win, the Panthers now sit alone in seventh place, one game behind Georgia Southern.
Next up for GSU are a pair of home games against Texas State and UT Arlington on Thursday and Saturday at the GSU Sports Arena.
JAGUARS TOPS LOUISIANA-MONROE 77-47 AND SNAPS MONTH-LONG LOSING STREAK
MONROE, La. – The University of South Alabama's women's basketball team (8-15, 3-9) ended its eight-game losing streak with a 77-47 victory over Louisiana-Monroe (5-20, 2-12) on Saturday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The Jaguars led the Warhawks by double-digits in all but one minute after the first quarter.
"I thought we did a great job of sharing the basketball with 19 assists on 28 made field goals," said South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler. "Everybody was sharing it, and that created energy for the team. We were able to make shots as well. On defense we did an outstanding job and completed the effort by dominating on the glass."
Louisiana-Monroe scored the first point of the game on a free throw in its second possession, but South Alabama went on a 10-0 run with baskets in four-straight possessions. Colby Davis got the Jags on the board with a layup, and Candice Williams hit a three-pointer on a pass by Genesis Perrymond. Chyna Ellis then made a three off a dish by Davis, and Kennedi Centers capped the run with a layup after stealing the ball near half court.
The Jags ended the quarter with the last four points scored and led 16-7.
The Jags started the second quarter with an 8-2 run. Ellis began the run with a three and then made a jumper off a pass by Shaforia Kines in the next possession. Davis made a three in the following possession off another pass by Kines.
The Warhawks made consecutive three's, but the Jaguars responded with a quick 6-0 run. Guillory got a layup with 4:11 remaining off a feed by Williams. Kines got another layup for the Jags off a steal, and she fed Williams for a jumper on the next possession. India Hall made a layup to give South Alabama a 35-20 lead at halftime.
Louisiana-Monroe scored a layup on the first possession of the second half, but South Alabama ripped off an 11-0 run that was almost five minutes long. Centers started the run with a put back layup, and Ellis then got a layup off a pass by Perrymond. Ellis split a pair of free throws, and Davis made both of her attempts at the line with 6:39 left in the third quarter. Ellis made a jumper off an inbounds play, and Guillory got a layup off an offensive rebound in the next possession.
After the Warhawks snapped their scoreless drought with a three-pointer at the 4:15 mark of the quarter, the Jags went on another quick 6-0 run with points in three-straight possessions. Davis split a pair of free throws, Guillory made both of her attempts at the charity stripe and Davis converted a three-point play after getting fouled on a made layup.
The Jags were able to stretch their lead to 35 points, the largest of the game, with a 17-4 run in the fourth quarter. Ellis got the run going with a layup on a pass by Perrymond. London made a pair of free throws, Centers hit a jumper in the paint off another pass by Perrymond, and Centers then made two free throws for four-straight possessions with points. Centers and Guillory then hit back-to-back jumpers before Erin Autio drained a three-pointer and Kines made a fast break layup after getting a steal.
The Jags shot 43.8% (28-64) from the field, 35.0% (7-20) from three and 64.7% (11-17) from the free throw line and held the Warhawks to 28.0% (14-50) from the field and 19.0% (4-21) from three. Three different Jags made two three-pointers: Williams (2-2), Ellis (2-4) and Davis (2-5).
South Alabama had the edge on the glass, outrebounding Louisiana-Monroe 44-30. The Jags turned 19 offensive boards into a 15-6 advantage in second chance points that also helped them outscore the Warhawks 32-18 in points in the paint.
The Jags finished with 19 assists to 11 turnovers for the second-highest assist/turnover ratio in a game this season. Capitalizing off of the Warhawks' 17 turnovers, the Jags had the advantage in points off turnovers (27-9) and fast break points (8-0). Perrymond had a game-high six assists and one turnover, and Kines had three dimes and no turnovers. Davis and Williams both had three assists and one turnover.
"Louisiana-Monroe has a tendency to turn the ball over," said Fowler. "The players needed to be ready to capitalize off their turnovers, and we certainly did so. We talked about the three-on-two and two-on-one situations and getting points off of them."
South Alabama had five different players score over ten points for the first time since its 83-45 win against Georgia State on the exact same date last year. Ellis scored a game-high 15 points and also had a team-high eight rebounds, two blocks, two steals and an assist. With her two rejections she now has 63 on the year, moving her to fourth-place in program history for most blocks in a season. She passed LaSandra Jenkins' 1984 total of 62 rejections.
Davis scored 14 points on 4-8 shooting and went 4-5 at the free throw line. She also had three assists and three rebounds. Centers had the first double-digit scoring game of her career, producing 10 points in addition to seven rebounds and a steal.
Williams and Guillory both scored a dozen points. Williams went 5-9 from the field for her fifth double-digit scoring game of the year. Guillory was an efficient 5-8 from the field and made both free throw attempts for her first double-digit scoring game of the season. Also she grabbed three rebounds and blocked a game-high three shots, tying her career-high.
"It's awesome to see the kids in the locker room happy, excited and proud of their effort being rewarded," said Fowler. "One thing we talked about was our run last season started at Louisiana-Monroe. We had a tough game and then had a good performance that led to some momentum for the rest of the year. Hopefully that can be the case this season."
The Jags return home to face the two Sun Belt Carolina schools next week, starting with Coastal Carolina on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
UTA Ends Win Drought Against Arkansas State
ARLINGTON, Texas -- UTA women's basketball accomplished a feat Saturday afternoon at College Park Center that the Mavericks haven't been able to reach since 1987. UTA defeated Arkansas State 69-58 in historic fashion, earning its first win over the program in 10 tries.
The Lady Mavericks clipped their two-game skid, the longest in Sun Belt play, to improve to 15-6 and 8-3 in league competition. Arkansas State (5-19, 3-9) dropped its first conference matchup to UTA for the first time since UTA joined the Sun Belt in 2013-14. With the win, head coach Krista Gerlich passed Cindy Salser (1976-79) on UTA's win rankings.
Rebekah VanDijk had a milestone day beginning with a field goal in the second quarter, moving into ninth all-time on UTA's career list. Minutes later, she became 22nd in SBC history in career blocks with her third of the game. The junior also cemented her name in UTA's career rebounds list in fifth. She led all scoring with 21 points, adding eight boards and a steal.
Crystal Allen was hot from long range on 3-of-5 shooting to turn in 13 points, a pair of steals and four rebounds. Aysia Evans also registered a career-high 13 points, and Cierra Johnson inked five assists and nine rebounds.
UTA opened the day on a 6-2 run, but Arkansas State would even the score with a pair of jumpers before a media timeout at the 4:54 mark. The Red Wolves were then fouled and gained their first lead on two good free throws. An Allen 3 brought the Lady Mavs within two before frees from Ericka Mattlingly tied it back at 11. Arkansas State shot 54 percent late to manufacture a 22-13 lead at the end of the first.
VanDijk dropped in a pair of layups and Evans followed with one of her own to open the second quarter and close the deficit to five points. Tension and momentum began to build as the clock ran down. Back-to-back layups for Christina Devers tied the ballgame at 29 and another Allen 3-pointer reignited UTA's lead 32-30. Arkansas State closed out the scoring in the first half with a pair of buckets to tie it 34 all.
With the Red Wolves maintaining a small lead in the opening minutes of the third quarter, Allyson Te’o’s first points of the game brought UTA within one and that trend would continue to the beginning of the final frame. An opening bucket from VanDijk fueled a Lady Maverick takeover with 9:36 to play and Allen’s third trey of the day pushed the advantage to three. Efficient shooting and aggressive defense kept the wheels turning for UTA as it stretched a lead to 10 more than halfway through the quarter.
KEY STATS
UTA bested Arkansas State in every shooting category, registering a field percentage of 41 to the Red Wolves’ 33. UTA also won on the defensive side of the ball, forcing 20 turnovers converted to 15 points.
UPCOMING GAME
The Lady Mavericks look to open a new win streak with a trip to the Georgias. UTA faces Georgia Southern 6 p.m.Thursday in Statesboro, before turning to Georgia State at 11 p.m. Saturday.
Georgia Southern Hangs On to Defeat Coastal Carolina 65-62
CONWAY, SC - The Georgia Southern women's basketball team (11-13, 7-6 SBC) defeated the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (9-14, 4-9 SBC) in a hard fought battle inside of the HTC Center on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles and Chants fought it out until the final seconds, but a phenomenal fourth quarter by GS lifted the Eagles to a 65-62 win over Coastal Carolina.
Standout freshman Alexis Brown and Nakol Franks highlighted the Eagles win. Brown led the team with 15 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Franks collected 14 points herself, eight of which were scored within the final two minutes of the game. Patrice Butler collected eight points and a team-high 13 rebounds, and her sister Sierra tacked on nine points on the day.
Ced Gibson led the Chanticleers with 22 points, five rebounds and six assists. Kennedy Archer contributed 14 points, and Naheria Hamilton scored ten. Alexis Robinson led the Chants from down low with eight rebounds.
THE STORY
The Chanticleers jumped out to a 7-2 lead to start the game, but the Eagles were able to catch up and end the first quarter trailing by five points, 14-19. Alexis Brown highlighted the first quarter with six points, despite the Eagles 26.3% (5-19) field goal percentage in comparison to the Chants 60.0% (9-15) field goal percentage to end the first quarter.
GS came out of the first quarter on fire and increased their shooting percentage to 38.5% (5-13) heading into the half. GS led 29-25 at the half, 11 of those points coming from second-chance shots. The back-and-forth intensity continued into the last half of the ballgame, but the Chants were able to begin to pull away with the lead behind Gibson's 21 points.
Nakol Franks came in clutch for the Eagles in the fourth quarter, sinking back-to-back three pointers within the last two minutes of the game to bring the game within reach for GS. She later was fouled and sent to the line, sinking both of her free throws to give Georgia Southern a three-point lead in the final seconds.
A three-point lead was all GS needed to hang on for the win, moving them over .500 in conference play once again and putting them back in contention for the top-five in conference play.
QUOTABLES FROM HEAD COACH KIP DROWN
"We came on this trip knowing that the teams we were playing were chasing us in the standings. I'm proud of the kids, the last thing I told them on Thursday was to have a short memory and to come down here and fight for a win. We had great effort and we stuck with it, even though we got down in the third and fourth quarter. They hit seven threes in the third quarter, we had to change up our defense and do some things we hadn't done in a while, but they stuck with it and pulled out a big road win."
NEXT UP
Georgia Southern will return home next weekend for their final two home games. The Eagles will play UT Arlington at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16., and then face off against Texas State at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18. GS will celebrate seniors Alexis Sams, Patrice Butler, Jessica Marcus, and Angel McGowan at their final home game on the 18th.
Cajuns Take Down Troy In SBC Action, 80-72
LAFAYETTE – Simone Fields scored 24 points and Troi Swain added 18 points to lead the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns to an 80-72 win over Troy on Saturday at the Cajundome.
Louisiana (14-8, 8-5 SBC) is now on a three-game winning streak as the Cajuns approach the final stretch of Sun Belt Conference play.
The Cajuns led 7-6 when Swain knocked down a three-pointer with 4:19 left in the first quarter.
Troy (16-7, 9-3 SBC) trailed 14-10 after Claresa Banks made two free throws with 1:42 to go in the period. ArJae' Saunders connected on a jumper with 18 seconds left in the quarter to trim Louisiana's lead to 18-14 at the end of the first frame.
Jaylyn Gordon hit a three-pointer to put the Cajuns in front 26-23 with 4:38 remaining in the second period.
Swain made one-of-two free throws to give Louisiana a 34-27 lead with 1:27 to go in the second quarter. The Cajuns held a 38-31 lead at halftime following a long jumper by Swain with two seconds on the clock.
The Trojans opened the second half on an 8-2 run that was capped off by a Saunders three-pointer to cut the lead to 40-39 with 7:16 left in the third quarter.
Louisiana jumped ahead 50-44 when Nekia Jones connected on a trey to give the Cajuns a 50-44 lead with 4:27 remaining in the third period.
Gordon made a layup with four seconds to go in the quarter and Louisiana led 57-46 at the end of the third frame.
The Cajuns opened the game up in the fourth quarter and led 62-46 following a three-pointer by Swain with 8:47 to go in the game.
Fields, who shot a perfect 10-for-10 from the floor, made a layup while being fouled and knocked down the free throw to give Louisiana a 71-55 lead with 3:19 left in the contest.
Troy cut the lead to 10 points in the closing minutes, but that was as close as the Trojans would come as the Cajuns held on for the win.
Caitlyn Ramirez led Troy with 16 points while Banks had 14 points for the Trojans.
Next up, Louisiana will hit the road to face ULM on Saturday, Feb. 18 in Monroe, La.