Trojans Topple Mountaineers; Foley Earns 300th LR Win
BOONE, N.C. – Head coach Joe Foley earned his 300th win as head coach of Little Rock women's basketball as the Trojans defeated Appalachian State 52-40 on Thursday evening at Holmes Convocation Center.

The first-place Trojans (11-8, 8-0 Sun Belt) tallied their 13th consecutive Sun Belt win dating back to last season and have now won eight in a row this season.

Ronjanae DeGray led the game with 18 points and tallied five rebounds. Tori Lasker was the other Trojan in double figures as she put up 14 while going 4-for-8 from three. Raeyana DeGray led Little Rock with seven rebounds while Monique Townson added a game-high seven assists.

The Mountaineers (5-15, 3-6 Sun Belt) had no players in double figures as Tierra Wilson and LaPresha Stanley each tallied nine. Bayley Plummer led the game with 10 rebounds and added five points.

After a cold third quarter, Little Rock finished the game on a strong note by outscoring App State 13-9 in the final 10 minutes. Lasker scored 11 of the Trojans' 13 points in the fourth quarter as she went 4-for-6 from the field and 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. All 13 of Little Rock's points came off the bench. App State didn't help its cause as it committed five turnovers in the final period compared to Little Rock's one.

The Mountaineers picked up the pace in the third quarter by outscoring the Trojans 13-6 and cutting Little Rock's lead to eight at 39-31. The Trojans' shot was cold in the third period at 23.1 percent (3-for-13) while the Mountaineers were 4-for-10 from the field and 2-for-3 from deep. DeGray upped her total to 16 points and scored all six of Little Rock's points for the quarter. DeGray's first basket in the quarter gave Little Rock its largest lead of the game at 17 points with 6:52 left in the period.

The Trojans ended the first half with a 33-18 lead over the Mountaineers. Ronjanae DeGray started to catch fire as she ended the half with a game-leading 10 points. Of Little Rock's 12 baskets in the first half, 10 had an assist attached while five came from Townson.

Little Rock tied its season high for first-quarter points as it hung 22 on App State while holding the Mountaineers to eight. Little Rock shot 47.1 percent (8-for-17) in the period as Keanna Keys led the quarter with six points. The Trojans forced eight Mountaineer turnovers while committing none. Of the eight turnovers, four came on steals by Little Rock. Fourteen of the Trojans' 22 points came off turnovers.

Terrion Moore finished the game with five points and a career-high six assists. Yanina Inkina had four points with a rebound and a steal, and Kira Shepard had three points.

The Trojans had good ball movement as 16 of their 20 baskets had an assist.

App State's 22 turnovers were the second-most by a Little Rock opponent this season and were the most by a Little Rock opponent in Sun Belt play. The Trojans' nine steals tied for the second-most in a game this season and were the most in conference play.

Little Rock will look to make it nine in a row on Saturday as it travels to Conway, South Carolina, to battle Coastal Carolina. Opening tip against the Chanticleers is scheduled for noon (CT).

Bobcats Ground the Eagles, 81-56
STATESBORO, Ga. – The Texas State women's basketball team (13-7, 6-3 SBC) defeated Georgia Southern (3-16, 0-8 SBC), 81-56, on Thursday afternoon inside Hanner Fieldhouse. The win gives the Bobcats its sixth conference win of the season, while the loss is the 13th in a row for Georgia Southern.

Both coaching staff wore tennis shoes on the sidelines to support Suits and Sneakers in partnership with Coaches vs. Cancer, an effort to raise awareness through the American Cancer Society.

"These young women have been great all season at bouncing from adversity," head coach Zenarae Antoine said. "Not only did we bounce back from a rough first half, we also bounced back from a tough loss on Saturday. The way we played in the third quarter was exciting to watch. Obviously, Brooke was tremendous on the offensive end, but the balanced scoring was encouraging. When Brooke plays like she did today, we are very tough to beat."

After allowing the Eagles to score 34 points in the first half, the defense stood stout in the third quarter. The Bobcats yielded just seven points from the home team in the third frame. Offensively, TXST exploded for 29 points and pushed the halftime lead from six points to 28 points heading into the final stanza. In the quarter, Georgia Southern shot 3-of-15 (20.0 percent) and made only 1-of-8 (12.5 percent) from behind the arc.

Ti'Aira Pitts provided the spark for the Bobcats to open the second half, scoring the first seven points of the quarter for the visiting team. She capped off her mini-run with an old fashioned three-point play. She totaled nine of her 13 points in the third quarter. Pitts grabbed four rebounds.

Sophomore guard Brooke Holle paced the Bobcats in scoring, pouring in a career-high 26 points, eclipsing the 24 points she scored in the win over UTSA on Dec. 5, 2017. She connected on 8-of-11 shots for the game, including 5-of-7 from the 3-point line and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. She also pulled down seven rebounds.

Senior guard Taeler Deer recorded her third double-double of the season. Deer notched 13 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. The game marked the eighth time this season she has recorded at least eight dimes, and the third time she registered double-figure helpers. Her other two double-doubles came against Houston (18 points and 11 assists) and Troy (23 points and 10 assists).

Ericka May found her rhythm on the offensive end, scoring 10 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Toshua Leavitt knocked down three more 3-pointers, pushing her season total to 90 made triples. In total, the junior guard tallied 12 points in 28 minutes of action.

All five starters scored in double-figures for the first time this season. The starters outscored the starting five from the Eagles 74-35. The huge margin from the starters helped conceal the fact that the team coughed up 12 turnovers and 14 offensive rebounds. The Eagles scored 16 points off of the offensive glass, outscoring the Bobcats 16-9 in second chance points. Despite the turnovers, Georgia Southern was only able to score seven points off of the Bobcat mistakes.

Texas State was efficient shooting the basketball, converting 30-of 61 (49.2 percent) shot attempts and nailing 10-of-22 (45.5 percent) from deep. The game marked the 11th time this season that the Bobcats have made 10 or more 3-point attempts.

The Bobcats will head a few hours north to take on Georgia State in Atlanta, Ga. on Jan. 27. The contest is scheduled for an 11:00 a.m. CDT tip and will be streamed live via WatchESPN/ESPN3.

Lady Mavs Take OT Thriller At Georgia State
ATLANTA - It was a thriller on Thursday night at GSU Sports Arena as UT Arlington survived Georgia State's comeback bid to win 81-76 for its third straight victory.

Trailing by one with nine seconds left in regulation, a huge steal from Laurynn McGowen would lead to two converted free throws, but GSU would be fouled on the other end with 1.7 on the clock to shoot two. After the first went in, the second bounced off and UTA's desperation shot bounced off the rim.

The Lady Mavs would take advantage and open the OT period on an 11-3 run. With the win UTA improved to 11-9 overall and 5-4 in league play, moving above .500 in the Sun Belt for the first time this season. Georgia State couldn't string together consecutive wins, falling to 5-14 and 1-7. UTA led by as many as 16 with 6:36 in the third.

UTA's Rebekah VanDijk would have a monster first half, scoring the opening bucket in just five seconds on the way to 23 first-half points as well as her 44th-career double-double with 10 rebounds. However, the Panthers clamped down on the senior, giving up just four points to VanDijk in the final 20 minutes. With her opening points, VanDijk became just the fifth player in UTA history to record 1,500 points as she has 1,525 in four years.

The performance from McGowen proved clutch down the stretch as she provided a career-high 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting, connecting on six from the charity stripe including the cruicial shots in the final seconds. Crystal Allen was hot behind the 3-point line, connecting on five of her nine attempts for 15 points.

The Lady Mavs continue the trek through Georgia on Saturday when they take on Georgia Southern at 11 a.m. CT.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter: The opening 10 minutes proved crucial as UTA put up its most points in an opening quarter this season. The Panthers didn't have an answer for VanDijk inside as the senior need just five seconds to get on the board. The Lady Mavs would continue to pound it inside to the Nazareth, Texas native as she would have 10 points in the first 3:46 of the game.

Georgia State would settle in, but couldn't slow down the UTA offense as the Lady Mavs shot 57.9 percent from the field, helped along by VanDijk making her first six attempts. Georgia State would trial by 12, knocking down a 3-pointer with seconds on the clock.

Second Quarter:
It was Georgia State that came out hot to start the second quarter. The Panthers went on a 10-2 run to open the frame and trimmed the deficit down to just three points midway through the quarter. However, it was VanDijk once again who lifted up the offense, securing her double-double and sparked a 7-0 run.

Crystal Allen joined in on the fun to knock down a pair of treys and UTA took a 15-point lead into the locker room.

Third Quarter: While UTA seemed to be able to match Georgia State blow-for-blow in the third stanza, Georgia State found an answer for VanDijk. The Panthers held her to just two points in period and took advantage of the lack of the center's offense to spark a comeback once again. A 10-2 run in the final three minutes trimmed the deficit to just six points going to the fourth.

Fourth Quarter: The momentum continued for the Panthers to open the final frame as a 3-pointer with seven minutes to play gave Georgia State its first lead of the game. The Lady Mavs were able to give a quick response to tie the game at 60, giving the UTA coach a chance to slow things down with a timeout.

The teams would trade shots once again as GSU built up a four-point edge in the final minute. A clutch three-point shot from Allen pulled UTA within one, and McGowen's steal completed UTA's comeback.

KEY STATS UTA led for 37.37, including the first three periods of play. UTA improved to 9-0 when leading going to the final quarter… Shelby Richards finished with 10 points… UTA shot 45.5 percent from the field after being nearly at 60 percent in the first 20 minutes. UTA made just eight field goals in the second half… UTA outscored GSU off the bench 21-9, led by Allen's 15… Georgia State hit 10 3-pointers.

A-State Earns SBC Road Win at Coastal Carolina
CONWAY, S.C. (1/25/18) – The Arkansas State women’s basketball team picked up a crucial Sun Belt Conference road win with a 70-63 victory over Coastal Carolina Thursday afternoon at the HTC Center.

The Red Wolves erased a 13-point first quarter deficit and outscored the Chanticleers in each of the final three quarters to improve to 10-9 and 5-3 in the league. Coastal Carolina fells to 11-9 overall and 5-4 in league games.

Arkansas State was led by Jada Ford’s 23 points, which included four, 3-pointers, while Akasha Westbrook collected her fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Madison Heckert scored a season-high 12 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Starr Taylor dished out a season-high five assists.

Coastal Carolina was led by Naheria Hamilton’s 16 points, while Kaylin West added 13 points and Breelyn Blanding finished with 10.

The Red Wolves shot 40 percent (26-of-64) from the field and hit 42.9 percent (6-of-14) of their 3-point attempts. Coastal Carolina shot 37.3 percent (22-of-59), but was just 4-of-16 from beyond the arc.

How It Happened (First Half):

A-State jumped out to a 6-4 lead early in the first quarter, but went scoreless over the next six-plus minutes as Coastal Carolina went on a 15-0 run to build a 19-6 lead. The Red Wolves were 0-9 from the field during the run, while the Chanticleers dominated the rebounding margin at 18-6.

Arkansas State turned up its defensive pressure in the second quarter as the Chants turned the ball over nine times during a 13-1 run for A-State that tied the game at 23-23 with just over a minute to play in the game.

Bradshaw helped the Red Wolves get going offensively with back-to-back jumpers in the paint that sparked a 6-0 run to get within 22-16. A-State continued to stay disciplined on the defensive end and was rewarded with a 3-pointer in transition from Madison Heckert, followed by a steal and layup by Jada Ford to tie the game. Coastal Carolina hit a 3-pointer with under a minute to go to set the halftime score at 26-23.

Both teams shot 34 percent from the field, but Coastal Carolina held a 28-15 edge in rebounding that allowed them to score 10 second chance opportunity points.

How It Happened (Second Half):

The Chanticleers pushed the lead to 32-25 early in the third quarter after a 6-0 run, but A-State fought back and took the lead after Peyton Martin got a put back off a missed free throw to give A-State its first lead since early in the first quarter a 36-35.

After trading baskets, Heckert hit her second 3-pointer of the afternoon to give the Red Wolves a 42-38 lead, but Coastal Carolina answered with four straight points to end the period to take a 46-44 edge in the final quarter.

Ford gave A-State a 50-48 lead with 7:23 to go in the game when she knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner after receiving a wild behind the back from Westbrook as she was falling down. The schools traded baskets for the next minute-plus, but the Red Wolves took the lead for good when Westbrook scored on a put back and was fouled to go up 55-52 with 5:41 remaining.

Arkansas State took its largest with 2:29 to go after Ford knocked down her fourth, 3-pointer of the game, but the Chants were able to close the gap to 67-63 with 32 seconds to go after officials blew in an inadvertent whistle as Coastal Carolina grabbed a rebound on a missed free throw and scored. After a lengthy review, the play stood and the Red Wolves inbounded the ball underneath their own basket and hit 3-of-6 free throws to close out the game.

Notables:

Junior guard Akasha Westbrook scored in double-figures for the 12th straight game.

Westbrook collected her fourth career double-double.

Jada Ford tied a season-high with 23 points.

Madison Heckert scored a season-high 12 points.

A-State is now 9-0 in games immediately following a loss.

The Red Wolves are now 14-5 over the last three seasons when holding opponents to single digits in any quarter.

Quoting Coach Boyer:

“This is a game where we talked about how you can’t foul Coastal and play without fouling and we did a decent job of that on the perimeter but where we got into trouble was down in the post and a lot of credit goes to them for that and we ended up with kids in foul trouble. We had some tough breaks in there too, but this is a really good road win and what it makes it better is how we were able to come back and win.”

Up Next:

Arkansas State continues it road trip through the Carolina states with matchup at Appalachian State on Saturday, Jan. 27. Tip-off is set for noon in Boone, N.C.

SOUTH ALABAMA EXTENDS WIN STREAK TO FIVE WITH WIN AT LOUISIANA
LAFAYETTE, La. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team (14-5, 7-1 SBC) took down the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (10-10, 5-3 SBC), 72-57, in Lafayette to extend its winning streak to five games. This is the first-time since 2010 the Jags have gone on a five-game Sun Belt Conference win streak.

Savannah Jones came out scorching hot against Louisiana after scoring a season-low two points against Appalachian State on Saturday. The redshirt freshman scored 13 points on a 5-of-7 shooting night, making 3-of-4 attempts from three-point range, while grabbing three boards and assisting on a shot.

Shaforia Kines matched Jones with 13 tying for the team-high. Kines went 6-of-11 from the field and made a three-point bucket on three attempts. The sophomore guard also grabbed four rebounds and had a pair of assists and steals in the win.

LaNeetra Guillory made up the trio of Jags in double-figure scoring with 11. The senior forward shot 4-of-6 from the field, and was a perfect 2-for-2 on three-point buckets.

Chyna Ellis grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, while scoring seven points. The senior center also had four blocks and assisted on four shots.

Louisiana's leading scorer Nekia Jones scored 16 on the evening. Jones shot 6-of-11 from the field, making four of the Ragin' Cajun's five three-pointers.

GAME FACTS
- The Jags jumped out to a 15-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
- In the second, USA went on two separate 7-0 runs.
- However, Louisiana held South Alabama scoreless for the final 4:33 of the half.
- The Jags shot 5-of-11 from beyond the arc, while holding the Ragin' Cajuns to 0-for-6 on three-point attempts in the first-half.
- USA came out of the half on a 12-0 run, outscoring Louisiana 25-9 in the third quarter.
- Despite being outscored in the final quarter 29-18, South Alabama shot 50 percent from the field and took the road matchup.
- The Jags outrebound the Ragin' Cajuns 41-33, including 30-21 on the defensive glass.
- USA edged Louisiana on points in the paint and second chance points 26-24 and 10-9, respectively.
- South Alabama shot 48.3 percent from the field, while shooting 45.5 percent on three-point attempts.
- The Jags shot at least 50 percent from the field in every quarter except for the first.

NOTES
- USA is 5-3 on the road this season.
- South Alabama is 7-1 in conference for the first-time since 2009-10 season.
- The Jags are 12-2 when scoring 60 or more points, including 8-0 when scoring more than 70.
- USA is 11-0 when leading at the half.
- Guillory had her second game this season with 10 or more points, both during SBC action.
- Ellis had her ninth game this season with 10 or more rebounds, and it was her 11th game with three or more blocks.
- A win on Saturday at ULM would tie head coach Terry Fowler's most in a season at South Alabama with 15, set during the 2016-17 season.
- The Jags will also look to extend their conference winning streak to six, which would be the second-longest SBC win streak in program history.

THEY SAID IT
USA head coach Terry Fowler
On coming out strong in the second-half. "We got stops and rebounds. We got easy baskets in transition. We were able to stretch it out. We talked about needing to knock them out the first five minutes of the second-half."

On the freshman getting in late in the game: "We decided it was time to get them in there. They need to get experience like they did tonight. You never know when that opportunity is going to come again and you never know when you are going to have to put them in. It was important they played here tonight."

Sophomore G Shaforia Kines
On her play against Louisiana: "I was feeling good in warm-ups and I knew I was going to have a good game. I was making all of my shots. GG (Genesis Perrymond) was there constantly telling me to shoot."

On being a leader as an underclassman: "As a point guard, I have to be a leader, but I just try to pump up my teammates and talk with everyone on the court, whether I have the ball or am playing away from it. That's the biggest thing I have to do is to continue to talk."

On the team's win streak: "It feels good to win. When we come into the locker room, and get to celebrate each win it feels great."

Redshirt freshman G Savannah Jones
On coming off a sub-par performance against App State: "Tonight I just tried to really focus on the game and nothing else. I tried to put the last game behind me."

On the team's win streak and being a part of a winning team this season: "It's a great feeling to be a part of this team. I think it's a good start and want to finish this year strong heading into the next few years."

On looking to continue this success to ULM on Saturday: "The same, I just want us to win."

UP NEXT
The Jaguars finish the Louisiana swing at ULM on Saturday with a noon start.

Trio Leads Trojans to Victory
MONROE, Louisiana – Behind dominate performances by Amber Rivers, Jasmine Robinson and Kayla Robinson, the Troy women's basketball team defeated ULM, 86-79 at Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Thursday.

The trio combined for 79 percent of the Trojans' offence scoring 68 of the team's 86 points. Rivers and Kayla Robinson led the way with 23 points each, while Jasmine Robinson turned in a career-high 22 points.

Kayla Robinson and Rivers have ruled opponents over the last three game averaging 20 and 19.3 points per game, respectively. Robinson has also collected 22 assists over that span.

ULM (4-15, 1-7 Sun Belt) took advantage of 12 points from the free throw line in the first half and made four 3-pointers to draw level with the Trojans at halftime, 42-42. Troy (9-10, 4-4) used a stead dose of mid-range jumpers and shot 41.6 percent in the game highlighted by a 6-of-12 display in the fourth quarter.

The Trojans won the rebound battle 48-40 and scored 40 points in the paint including 18 second chance points but converted just four 3-pointers on 16 attempts (25 percent). There were 15 lead changes and nine ties in the back-and-forth affair.

After the Warhawks opened the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run and eventually took the lead, 71-70, the Trojans outscored ULM 16-8 over the final 4:21 to close out the victory.

UP NEXT
Troy travels south the face off against UL Lafayette on Saturday at 4 p.m. It will be the first time the teams have met since last season's Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship game that the Trojan won.