A-State Wins in Opening Round of SBC Tourney
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NEW ORLEANS, La. (3/7/17) – The No. 11 seed Arkansas State women’s basketball team defeated the No. 6 seed Georgia Southern with a 61-54 victory in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament at Lakefront Arena.
A-State advances to take on No. 3 Troy Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals. The game will air on 95.3FM The Ticket and will be broadcast on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN App.
The Red Wolves were led by freshman Jada Ford’s 23 points, while fellow freshman Starr Taylor added 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Lauren Bradshaw grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds, while Ford’s five steals also set a career-high.
With the win, A-State improved its overall record to 7-24 on the season and 26-25 all-time in the SBC Tournament. It also marked the fourth straight year that the squad has won a game in the tournament.
Angel McGowan led Georgia Southern with 19 points, while Sierra Buttler finished with 11.
A-State shot 33.9 percent from the field, but went 17-of-22 (77.3 percent) from the free throw line, including a 9-of-10 mark down the stretch to help close out the win. Georgia Southern shot 31.6 percent from the field, but lost the battle on the boards 48-34 and allowed the Red Wolves to score 24 points in the paint. The Eagles also failed to take advantage of the Red Wolves’ 19 turnovers and finished with just 15 off those miscues.
How It Happened (First Half):
Arkansas State used a 7-0 run to build a 12-6 advantage late in the first quarter to take a lead it would not relinquish in the first half. Jada Ford started the run with a 3-pointer to give the Red Wolves their first lead of the night, while Lauren Bradshaw capped the run with a stick back.
The Eagles struggled to make shots in the first half after starting the game 1-of-15 from the field. They shot just 21 percent from the field, but kept the score close thanks to 13 turnovers in the first half by the Red Wolves.
A-State never gave up the lead in the half, but Georgia Southern got within a point twice before the Red Wolves opened up a five point advantage at 20-15 with 2:18 to go in the half after a jumper by Starr Taylor, but Georgia Southern closed the gap to 23-20 at the break.
Taylor had nine points and three rebounds in the first half to pace Arkansas State, while Bradshaw added four points and seven rebounds.
How It Happened (Second Half):
Georgia Southern opened the third quarter with a quick flurry of shots and took a 35-31 at the first media timeout, but the Red Wolves responded with a 14-0 run out of the timeout led by a huge quarter from Jada Ford.
Ford scored 14 of her game-high 23 points in the period thanks to a 3-of-4 mark from beyond the arc. Her two free throws with 3:09 to go put A-State up 43-35 and Starr Taylor made it a 10-point game when got a steal and a layup.
Despite the hot quarter, the Red Wolves led by just six at the end of the frame after both teams shot over 45 percent from the field in the period.
The Eagles cut the lead down to 45-44 with 8:31 to go in the game, but Ford hit a 3-pointer to push the lead to four points and Bradshaw followed with two free throws to go up 50-44 with 6:46 remaining.
Georgia Southern answered with a quick run get within 50-48, but A-State outscored the Eagles 12-6 over the final five minutes to close out the game. A-State was aided by an outstanding at the free throw, going a 9-of-10 to help seal the deal.
The final blow came when Taylor got a steal with 35 seconds left to put A-State up 60-50. Fowler added 1-of-2 free throws 10 seconds later, before the Eagles scores the final four points with under 14 seconds to go.
NO. 10 SOUTH ALABAMA DEFEATS #7 GEORGIA STATE 49-44 IN FIRST ROUND OF THE SBC TOURNAMENT
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NEW ORLEANS – The University of South Alabama's tenth-seeded women's basketball team (11-19) topped seventh-seeded Georgia State (12-18) in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at Lakefront Arena on Tuesday evening. With the game tied up at 43-43, Colby Davis made her only basket in the second half to put the South Alabama ahead with 41 seconds as the Jags outscored the Panthers 7-1 to end the game.
South Alabama advances to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament and will face No. 2 Texas-Arlington on Thursday at 5:00 p.m.
"(This game) was what I expected and what our team expected," said South Alabama head coach Terry Fowler. "It was going to be a dogfight between our two teams. We've both scouted pretty well against each other, and so we knew it was going to be difficult for points to be scored on. I was just really proud of the guts we had to finish the ball game… and we had 15 assists on 18 made baskets. That means we're sharing the basketball and sharing it around. That's something we're always proud of."
The score was tied at 37-37 to begin the fourth quarter, and Genesis Perrymond had the only basket, a three-pointer, in the first four minutes of the quarter to give the Jags a lead. The Panthers got the lead on a pair of free throws and a layup in consecutive possessions, but LaNeetra Guillory then made a fast break layup off a pass by Candice Williams with three minutes left. Georgia State got a jumper to go in the next possession, and Chyna Ellis tied it up by splitting a pair of free throws.
South Alabama prevented Georgia State from making a field goal in their last four possessions of the game. Williams hit a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left to make it a two-possession game, and Georgia State made it back into a one-possession game with a free throw five seconds later. Perrymond missed both free throw attempts with 12 seconds left, and a Panther's three-pointer from the wing fell short. Ellis grabbed the rebound and made both attempts at the charity stripe with three seconds to seal the win.
"My (assistant) coach Yolisha Jackson had everything scouted down the stretch," said Fowler. "Every sideline out of bounds they had we had scouted in pre-game and pretty knew what was coming. We had to make free throws down the stretch. Chyna Ellis was big at the end to give us that cushion. I thought a big turning point was we hadn't scored in awhile and Colby Davis had the short corner pull-up jumper… and that gave us a little cushion and we went down and made a couple of defensive stops."
The Jags led for the majority of the game, including most of the first half. Both teams were hitting shots in the first half of the first quarter. South Alabama scored on five on its first eight possessions, and Davis hit two three's in that span. The second one gave the Jags a 10-7 lead, which they held on for the rest of the quarter. Perrymond hit the Jags' third three-pointer of the quarter for a 16-11 lead.
Georgia State grabbed the lead in the second quarter with a 9-2 run, but South Alabama responded by shutting it out for the last 5:36 of the first half for an 11-0 run. Davis converted a four-point play after hitting her third three of the half off Shaforia Kines' pass to start the run. Ellis then got a layup off a dish by Perrymond, and Perrymond got a jumper to go in off a pass by Kines. Ellis made a free throw, and Davis ended the half by making a jumper with nine seconds left for a 29-20 halftime lead.
"The last three ball-games we've played pretty well," said Fowler. "We gave (Little Rock) a good game. We played really well against Arkansas State on Saturday, and I thought today it just kind of carried over, especially the fact that we made shots. All year long we struggled to make shots. I knew it was only 49 points, but for us we put the ball in the basket when we had to. Again I'm just proud of that fact and that we moved the basketball."
South Alabama had its biggest lead of the game, 13 points, twice in the beginning of the second half. The Jags started the third quarter on a 6-2 run. Perrymond made a fast break layup after Davis got a steal and Guillory and Williams made jumpers. Georgia State stormed back into the game with a 15-2 run in the last six minutes of the quarter to tie the game up. Ellis made a layup off a quick, leaping pass by Davis for the Jag's only basket during the Panthers' run.
The Jags shot 37.5% (18-48) from the field, 27.8% (5-18) from three and 53.3% (8-15) from the line and held the Panthers to 24.1% (14-58) from the field and 33.3% (5-15) from three. Although the Jags lost the turnover battle 19-17, they finished with 15 assists and also had 12 steals and eight blocks. South Alabama had the only four fast break points in the game.
South Alabama's starters combined for all but one point scored. Davis scored 12 of her 14 game-high points in the first half and also had six rebounds, a game-high five assists and two steals. Ellis recorded 12 points, a team-high eight rebounds, a game-high four blocks and an assists. Perrymond also got in double-figures (12 points) in scoring and also had six defensive rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal.
Appalachian State Avenges Regular Season Finale Loss with 79-58 Win over Coastal Carolina
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NEW ORLEANS - Appalachian State University women's basketball ousted No. 8 Coastal Carolina with a convincing 79-58 victory in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans on Tuesday.
With the win, Appalachian will move onto the quarterfinals to face top-seed Little Rock on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. (ET). The winner of that game will advance to the semifinals on Saturday at 6 p.m. (ET).
The Apps led from start-to-finish en route to their first-ever Sun Belt Tournament victory.
Five student-athletes scored in double-figures with Madi Story (Maiden, N.C./Bandys) firing in an efficient performance scoring a team-high 24 points on 7-for-16 shooting from the floor. Ashley Bassett-Smith (Pickerington, Ohio/UT Martin) played well on both ends of the floor with 13 points and 12 off the glass for her first double-double of the season.
Q. Murray (Baltimore, Md./George Mason) scored 13 points and dished out a game-high six assists. The redshirt-sophomore played a pivotal role in shutting down Coastal's leading scorer, Ced Gibson. Coming into the game, Gibson was averaging 14.9 points per game coming into the contest but was held to 1-for-12 shooting and just five points.
Joi Jones (Duluth, Ga./Duluth) ran the offense to a "T" with 11 points, five assists and just one turnover, while Bayley Plummer (East Davidson/Thomasville, N.C.) tied a career-high with 10 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting with five boards.
The backcourt of Jones and Murray played exceptionally well as the tandem combined for 24 points, 11 assists and just two turnovers.
Appalachian sprung out to a 24-15 lead in the opening quarter thanks to 66.7 percent shooting from the field and tenacious defense limiting Coastal to 6-for-19 from the floor. Leading 13-10 with 4:56 left in the game, App outscored Coastal, 11-5, to end the quarter for the nine-point lead.
The Mountaineers kept the intensity and energy up doubling up on Coastal, 34-17, thanks to the play of Bassett-Smith and Murray. Murray had a hand in all six points in a 6-0 spurt with a field goal and two assists, both of which went to Bassett-Smith.
Coastal would comeback to cut the deficit to eight, 38-30, with two minutes left in the opening half, but Jones sparked a 9-2 surge that pushed the lead back to 15 as App scored a season-high 47 points in the first half.
App shot an impressive 53.1 percent in the first half while committing just five miscues.
Coming out in the second half, the Apps didn't let up jumping out to a 20-point lead in the early minutes of the third period following a free throw from Story.
Coastal would slice the gap to 13, but never threatened the Apps the rest of the way as App kept the lead in double digits. App had leads by more than 10 points in the two setbacks against Coastal, but the third time was a charm as it coasted to the 21-point win.
App significantly improved in the turnover column, committing 12 turnovers. Appalachian averaged 22.5 turnovers against the Chanticleers in the two matchups during the regular season.
The Mountaineers' defense forced Coastal into 20 turnovers for 25 points.
Cajuns Advance To Sun Belt Tournament Quarterfinals With Win Over ULM, 79-72
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New Orleans – Simone Fields had a double-double with 19 points and 16 rebounds while Nekia Jones had 19 points and eight rebounds to lead the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team to a 79-72 win over ULM on Tuesday in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at Lakefront Arena.
No. 5 seed Louisiana (18-10, 11-7 SBC) will face No. 4 seed Texas State (16-13, 11-7 SBC) on Thursday at 2 p.m. in the quarterfinals at Lakefront Arena.
ULM (6-24, 3-16 SBC) jumped out to an early 12-2 lead with 4:02 left in the first quarter.
The Cajuns responded with an 11-0 run to take a 13-12 lead when Simone Fields made a layup with 2:18 to go in the first period. The teams were tied 18-18 at the end of the first frame.
The Warhawks opened the second quarter on a 12-2 run to go in front 30-20 after Gabriella Cortez connected on a 3-pointer with 7:36 left in the second period.
Jaylyn Gordon knocked down a jumper with 38 seconds to go in the second quarter to cut the ULM lead to 38-36 at halftime.
Cortez made another 3-pointer to increase the Warhawks' lead to 47-40 with 5:25 left in the third quarter. ULM led 57-52 at the end of the third frame.
Louisiana opened the fourth quarter on a 14-2 run to take a 66-59 lead on a jumper by Jones with 6:06 left in game.
Gordon knocked down two free throws to put the Cajuns in front 72-62 with 4:55 remaining in the contest. Solid free throw shooting in the final minutes helped Louisiana secure the win.
Alexis Collins led ULM with 24 points while Cortez had 17 points for the Warhawks.
The Cajuns now move on to face a Texas State team they went 1-1 with during the regular season. In the most recent meeting, Louisiana defeated Texas State 62-43 on March 2 in Lafayette.
Semifinals are held on Saturday, March 11 with the championship game being played on Sunday, March 12. All games of the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Championship will be played at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans and broadcast live on ESPN3.