Eagles Continue Hot Streak With 76-65 Win Over ULM
STATESBORO - Behind a career-high 22 points from freshman Alexis Brown, the Georgia Southern women's basketball team continued its recent hot streak, downing ULM 76-65 Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse. With the win, the Eagles have now won five of their past six games and moved to over .500 in the Sun Belt Conference.
Brown, whose previous high for points was 17 earlier this season against Troy, led the way for the Eagles with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting with four 3-pointers. It was the fourth time this season she has recorded a double-digit output. Angel McGowan scored 17 points while Patrice Butler scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
ULM was led by Carissa Moody's 25 points while Alexis Collins contributed 16 points. The 25 points from Moody are tied for the most allowed by an Eagle opponent this season.
Georgia Southern struggled from the field, shooting just 38.6 percent for the game, but hit 10 3-pointers and shot 80 percent from the free throw line (12 for 15) and forced 17 Warhawk turnovers.
With the win, GS moved to 10-12 overall, 6-5 in the Sun Belt Conference while ULM fell to 5-17, 2-9 in the SBC. GS improved to 2-0 against the Warhawks this season as the Eagles downed ULM 65-44 earlier this year in Monroe.
THE STORY
The Warhawks race out to a 19-7 lead in the first quarter, shooting 61 percent from the field early on while the Eagles went over three minutes without a field goal. Despite hitting just three field goals in the first quarter and shooting 23 percent from the floor, GS hit nine free throws to keep it close. ULM hit a 3-pointer late to take a 22-15 lead after one stanza.
The Eagles stormed out of the huddle in the second quarter, scoring the first seven points to tie the game up at 22-all. GS took a 32-28 lead, but failed to score over a 3:21 span to allow the Warhawks to re-take the lead. Jakayvea Akins hit a free throw with one second left to tie up the game as both teams went to the locker room. GS hit three 3-pointers in the quarter and outscored ULM 18-11 in the period, but only shot 32.3 percent in the first half. Alexis Brown led the Eagles with 10 first-half points on 4-of-5 shooting, including two 3-pointers.
Georgia Southern started the second half much like it did the second quarter, coming out on a 9-2 run to force a ULM timeout after the Eagles took their biggest lead at 42-35. The Eagles continued their onslaught as Brown his a pair of 3's to cap a 15-0 run, but ULM quickly responded with a 5-0 to cut the deficit back to 10. Although GS had struggled in the third quarter much of the season, Saturday was a different story as the Eagles shot 50 percent and scored 25 points (with four 3-pointers) while allowing just 12 to take a 13-point lead to the final period..
ULM found its shooting touch in the fourth quarter as it shot 53.8 percent from the field and hit four 3-pointers, but the Eagles wouldn't allow the Warhawks to get any closer than 10 points, and GS cruised to the 11-point win.
Troy Battles to Defeat South Alabama
TROY, Alabama – Trailing by one with just over a minute to play, senior Jayla Chills made a jumper from just inside the arc to give the Troy women's basketball team the lead for good en route to a 75-71 win over South Alabama on Saturday in Trojan Arena.
The Trojans (15-6, 8-2 SBC) fell behind late in the game after leading by as many as 17 points in the second quarter, but senior Kristen Emerson, averaging just six minutes per game, stepped up when it mattered the most. Down by three, Emerson made a layup to cut the deficit to one, then hauled in a crucial rebound on the defensive end before getting the assist on Chills' go-ahead shot. Emerson then collected another rebound and drew a foul before knocking down a pair of free throws to effectively ice the game.
Chills finished the contest with a team-high 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Emerson tallied four rebounds in just seven minutes of action.
Troy led big in the first half and allowed the Jaguars just nine points in the opening quarter, but the team went cold in the second half shooting just 22.9 percent over the final 20 minutes while South Alabama hit 48.3 percent of its shots over the span.
ArJae' Saunders got the Trojans off on the right foot with nine of the team's 20 first quarter points, but the senior managed just three points the rest of the way to finish with 12 on the day. Caitlyn Ramirez, who led the team in scoring entering the game, was quiet most of the afternoon, but with the assistance of five free throws ended with 12 points and seven rebounds.
South Alabama (7-14, 2-8) turned the ball over 30 times setting a new record by an opponent in Trojan Arena history. Colby Davis paced all scorers with 20 points while Chyna Ellis turned in a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Trojans Still Perfect in Sun Belt With Win Over CCU
LITTLE ROCK – The Trojan women's basketball team is still unblemished in Sun Belt Conference play, and this year's team is now in the program record book.
Little Rock handled Coastal Carolina 79-47 at the Jack Stephens Center on Saturday evening, winning their 11th straight game to begin Sun Belt Conference play and tie themselves with the 2010-11 Trojans for most consecutive wins to start the conference slate in team history.
The Trojans (17-6, 11-0 Sun Belt) used a strong defensive effort in the first half to build a lead over Coastal (9-12, 4-7) and put up 45 points in the second half to win their 16th consecutive conference game at the Jack Stephens Center dating back to last season.
With a loss by UT Arlington on Saturday, Little Rock is now 2.5 games ahead of the second-place Mavericks and the Troy Trojans (both 8-2 in the Sun Belt) with seven conference games remaining.
Kaitlyn Pratt reached a milestone during the game, scoring the 1,000th point of her career in the third quarter. The senior led the Trojans on the night with 19 points and had five rebounds. Ronjanae DeGray scored 13 points, and Carolee Dillard set a new career high with 11.
Kyra Collier was Little Rock's top rebounder with six rebounds and also had six steals and five assists. Sharde' Collins scored 8, had five assists and two steals. Monique Townson had 8 points as well with three assists and four rebounds. All told, 10 different Trojans players scored.
Little Rock committed a season-low six turnovers while Coastal had 24 total turnovers that resulted in 32 Trojan points. Little Rock recorded 18 assists while Coastal had just nine.
Little Rock's defense was stifling right from the beginning of the game as Coastal managed just 6 points in the first period on 2 of 10 shooting. The Trojans faced six Chanticleer turnovers and shot 7 of 13 from the field themselves, giving the home team a 16-6 edge after 10 minutes.
In the second quarter, the Chanticleers scored 4 quick points but were unable to score again for seven minutes. Coastal committed nine turnovers in the second quarter and had an 0-for-6 streak from the field as Little Rock went on a 16-0 run and go up by more than 20 points. At halftime, the Trojans led 34-13.
Little Rock's lead only grew in the second half, getting as large as 35 with 4:28 to play.
The Trojans will attempt to set a new school record for consecutive wins to start Sun Belt play on Thursday when they travel to UT Arlington. Tipoff between the Trojans and the second-place Mavericks is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
Hot Shooting, Rebounding Lead Bobcats To Upset At UTA
ARLINGTON, Texas – A near 50 percent shooting effort, a plus-10 margin in the rebound column along with a season-high 25 points from Taeler Deer and another 20 from Toshua Leavitt led Texas State to a 75-69 upset at UTA Saturday afternoon in Sun Belt women's basketball action.
The Bobcats, which improved to 11-10 overall and 6-4 in the Sun Belt, finished the game shooting 48.1 percent from the floor (26 of 54), while limiting UTA to 42.1 percent on 24 of 57 from the field. The Bobcats outrebounded the Mavericks 40-30 and outscored the larger UTA squad 28-26.
In addition to Deer and Leavitt, the Bobcats received double-digit performances from Erin Peoples (11 points) and Ericka May, who posted her third double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 boards.
UTA (15-5, 8-2 Sun Belt) had five players finish in double-figures led by Rebekah VanDijk's 14. Crystal Allen scored 13, while Christina Devers, Cierra Johnson and Lauren Billie contributed 12, 11 and 10, respectively. The loss by the Maverick's was just their second on their College Park Center floor this season and first at home to a Sun Belt Conference member.
UTA took the early lead at 6-4 on two Johnson 3-pointers, but the Bobcats responded to score 11 of the game's next 12 points to take a 15-7 lead at the 3:30 mark. TXST took advantage of a three-plus minute scoring drought by the Maverick to piece together an 8-0 run, which was highlighted by an NBA-range 3-pointer by Deer as the shot clock expired. UTA cut the Bobcats' lead to 17-13 with a bucket by VanDijk at the 2:34 mark, but the Mavs would not score again in the stanza as the Bobcats stretched its lead to 25-12 with its second 8-0 run of the afternoon.
Texas State doubled up the Mavericks at 30-15 on Peoples' 3-pointer from the left wing at the 7:49 mark of the second quarter. UTA scored six straight to trim the Bobcats' lead to 30-21, but a jumper by May kept the Mavs at bay. UTA again cut the TXST lead to single digits in the latter stages of the second quarter, but a floater by Leavitt and a late score inside by Peoples sent the visitors into halftime leading 36-22.
The third quarter saw the Bobcats expand its lead to a game-high 21 at 47-26 with Leavitt's second of two technical free throws at the 7:21 mark. However, a 12-4 UTA scoring outburst, coupled with a cold shooting spell by TXST, cut the Bobcats' advantage to 51-40 with 1:45 to go in the period. Deer scored TXST's final three points in the quarter, but she was answered by a VanDijk layup and a 3-pointer by Billie as the Mavericks closed their deficit to 54-45 entering the fourth quarter.
Texas State stretched its lead back to double-figures at 61-47 with 7:13 to go in regulation, but again UTA quickly scored the game next five points to trim cut its deficit back under 10. However, Amber Jones responded for the Bobcats with a putback and Deer sank her second 3-pointer of the night for a 66-52 Bobcat lead.
Texas State put the game away at the free throw line, making five attempts down the stretch as UTA scored seven points in the final 30 seconds to provide the 75-69 final.
Texas State shot 55.6 in the opening 20 minutes, making 15 of 27 attempts, including 4 of 12 from 3-point range. The Bobcats also forced 11 UTA turnovers and limited the Mavericks to only six points in the paint.
Cajuns Come Up With Big SBC Win Over Georgia State, 70-64
Atlanta, Ga. – Jaylyn Gordon scored 22 points and Simone Fields added 21 points to lead the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team to a 70-64 win over Georgia State on Saturday at the GSU Sports Arena.
Louisiana (12-8, 6-5 SBC) used a well-balanced team effort to take down the Panthers for the second time this season. The Cajuns shot 40% (24-for-60) from the floor including 30.8% (8-for-26) from the three-point line.
Georgia State (8-14, 4-7 SBC), which snapped its three game win streak, made a run in the final minutes to close the gap, but was unable to take the lead back from Louisiana.
The lead for the Cajuns was cut to 63-60 when Jada Lewis made one-of-two free throws for the Panthers with 1:34 to go in the game.
Nekia Jones then made four consecutive free throws to give Louisiana a 67-60 lead with 41 seconds left in the contest.
The Panthers trimmed the lead to 68-64 after Kierra Henry made a layup with 11 seconds to go in the game.
Jones then knocked down two free throws with seven seconds remaining to seal the deal for the Cajuns.
Louisiana took a 10-9 lead when Simone Fields made a jumper while being fouled and knocked down the free throw with 4:51 left in the first quarter.
Fields made a layup to give the Cajuns a 14-9 lead with 2:17 to go in the first period. Louisiana held a 19-15 advantage at the end of the first frame.
The Cajuns led 23-18 when Jones connected on a jumper with 6:22 remaining in the second quarter. They extended their lead to 31-21 after Gordon made a three-pointer with 2:42 left until halftime.
Malachi Seraphin-Williams knocked down a three-pointer with four seconds to go in the period and the Cajuns held a 36-28 lead at halftime.
Louisiana took a 40-32 lead when Gordon connected on another trey with 6:09 remaining in the third quarter.
Fields made a layup for the Cajuns to extend the lead to 47-32 with 2:49 left in the period. Gordon's three-pointer with three seconds to go in the quarter gave Louisiana a 54-41 lead at the end of the third frame.
Gordon, who shot 50% (6-for-12) from the three-point line, made another from beyond the arc to give the Cajuns a 61-51 lead with 7:15 remaining in the contest.
Georgia State then went on a 7-0 run to cut the Louisiana lead to 61-58 with 3:25 to go in the game. That was as close as the Panthers would come in the final minutes.
K.K. Williams led Georgia State with 14 points while Lewis had 13 points for the Panthers.
Louisiana will return to action when it hosts South Alabama on Thursday, Feb. 9 in a 7 p.m. game at the Cajundome.
Mountaineers Outlast A-State in Overtime, 81-72
JONESBORO, Ark. - Needing five extra minutes in overtime, Appalachian State University women’s basketball (9-13, 4-7 SBC) outlasted Arkansas State (5-18, 3-8 SBC) in a crucial 81-72 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro.
The win for App snaps a four-game slide while earning a season sweep over Arkansas State and the first-ever victory on the Red Wolves’ home floor. App’s 81 points scored ties a season high and is the most points it has scored in conference play.
App outscored the hosts,18-9, in overtime while hitting its final six shots en route to finishing 6-for-7 from the floor. Defensively, after A-State had hit four trifectas in the fourth quarter, Appalachian held the Red Wolves to 1-for-5 from beyond the arc in the extra period and 3-for-9 overall from the floor.
The final 22 points by App State including all 18 points in overtime were scored by Q. Murray, Madi Story and Joi Jones.
The trio of Murray (25), Story (25) and Jones (15) combined for 65 of the Mountaineers’ 81 points and hit 25 of the 31-made field goals.
Murray’s scoring output was a career-high for the redshirt sophomore, and Story led the team with a game-high nine boards.
Appalachian got off to a good start in first quarter with a 16-12 lead going into the secon period. With the game tied at 9-all, App scored seven of the last 10 points for the four-point advantage. Bayley Plummer retrieved a pass for a layup from Murray before scoring the next five points to end the quarter. A-State’s Brittany Fowler hit one of her three treys to cut a seven-point App lead to four.
Arkansas State shot 57.1 percent from the field in the second frame while holding App to 5-for-17 shooting from the field en route to a 33-30 lead at the break. The Red Wolves outscored App, 21-14, in the quarter highlighted by a 14-0 run when Appalachian was leading 26-19. While trailing 33-26, Jones and Murray hit back-to-back layups to cut the gap to just one possession going into the break.
Within the first 43 seconds of the second half and App trailing 35-33, Bria Carter sparked a 10-1 run over the next 3:50 put Appalachian ahead, 43-36. The Black and Gold held A-State scoreless for 2:08 during the run while Jones and Murray scored the next six points followed by a layup from Carter.
However, Arkansas State didn’t go away lightly staying on the Apps’ heels dwindling the lead to a possession before the fourth quarter, 48-46.
The Mountaineers stayed in front for majority of the fourth quarter until A-State went on a 5-0 spurt to take a 60-57 lead with 3:17 left in the game. Ashley Bassett-Smith (Pickerington, Ohio/UT Martin) hit a key jumper to cut the lead to one followed by jumpers from Story and Jones.
Dominique Oliver hit a 3-pointer with 1:26 left in the game to knot the score to 63-all. App had a chance to win with two shots but couldn’t convert in the end.
Fowler started the overtime frame with a trifecta to put A-State ahead, 66-63, but the Apps dug deep to finish the game with the 18-6 run to clinch the win.
App dominated A-State on the glass, 48-36, including 21 offensive rebounds that resulted in 17 second-chance points. The Mountaineers suffocated the Red Wolves into 20 turnovers for 28 points, and App held an impressive 48-26 effort in points in the paint.
Appalachian will seek to build off the win against archrival Georgia Southern on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Holmes Center.