Trojans Remain Perfect in SBC Play with 30-Point Win
STATESBORO, Ga. – First-place Little Rock women's basketball remained undefeated in Sun Belt play with a dominant 64-34 win over Georgia Southern on Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.

Ronjanae DeGray led the contest in scoring for the third consecutive game as she put up 16 points with a game-high eight rebounds for the Trojans (7-8, 4-0 Sun Belt). Tori Lasker scored 13 points with three rebounds and two assists as she was 3-for-4 from behind the arc. Terrion Moore had a career-high 10 points with four rebounds. Little Rock ended the game shooting 51.3 percent (20-for-39) from the field, 58.3 percent (7-for-12) from three and 94.4 percent (17-for-18) from the foul line.

Rhein Beamon led the Eagles (3-12, 0-4 Sun Belt) with six points while Sarah Moore led the team with seven rebounds. Georgia Southern's 22.9 field-goal percentage (11-for-48) was the lowest by a Little Rock opponent this season.

The Trojans had a narrow five-point lead at the end of the first quarter after shooting just 22.2 percent (2-for-9). Tied at 3-3, Little Rock went on an 8-0 run to go up 11-3. A three by the Eagles' Tatum Barber with 21 seconds left in the quarter thinned the Trojans' lead to five. Lasker led the quarter with six points on two three-point shots.

Little Rock went to the intermission with a 10-point lead over Georgia Southern as Keanna Keys led the quarter with seven points. The Trojans were 5-for-10 in the second period while the Eagles were 2-for-11 (18.2%). Both sides were a perfect 5-for-5 from the foul line in the quarter. Up 18-14, Little Rock went on a 7-0 run with two jumpers and a foul shot by Keys and two free throws by Moore. The run gave the Trojans their largest lead of the game to that point at 12.

The Trojans' lead ballooned to 17 in the third quarter after outscoring the Eagles 15-8. Little Rock was 6-for-9 (66.7%) in the period while Georgia Southern was 4-for-12 (33.3%). Monique Townson led the quarter with six points as she made a three, a layup and one foul shot.

Little Rock turned on the jets in the fourth quarter as it outscored Georgia Southern 23-10. The Trojans took their largest lead of the game at 33 points with 44 seconds left in the game as Kira Shepard drilled her second three-pointer of the quarter. The Trojans' last nine points of the game came on three-point shots by Shepard and Lasker. Little Rock had three runs of six points or more in the final quarter of play.

Raeyana DeGray led the game with a career-high four assists as she came up with five rebounds and two points. Keys ended the game with nine points, two rebounds and a block. Anna Hurlburt tied her career high for blocks with four as she earned seven boards, three assists, two points and a steal. Townson tallied six points with three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Shepard finished with six points and an assist in four minutes of action.

Little Rock will return to action on Thursday as it hosts preseason-favorite UT Arlington at the Jack Stephens Center at 5 p.m.

ELLIS COLLECTS 1,000 POINT, WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COMPLETES COMEBACK IN WIN AT UTA
ARLINGTON, Texas. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team (10-5, 3-1) overcomes a half-time deficit for the first-time this season as senior Chyna Ellis collects her 1,000th point on a 20-point afternoon in win at UTA (8-7, 2-2) on Saturday. The win ends a four-game losing streak to the Mavericks.

Ellis shot 7-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-6 on three-point attempts and 2-for-4 on free-throws, for her fifth 20-point effort of the season. The senior center also collected 11 rebounds, six blocks and two steals as part of her second-straight double-double.

Savannah Jones scored 15 points, all in second-half, on a 7-of-11 shooting night. Jones also collected 4 rebounds and an assist in the road-win.

Senior forward LaNeetra Guillory had a career-night as she scored 14 points to tie a career-high set on Jan. 26, 2016, at Troy. Guillory went 5-of-7 from the field, making a three pointer and three shots from the charity-stripe. She also had three rebounds, an assist, a rejection and a takeaway in the contest.

Shaforia Kines came up one point, rebound and assist away from a triple-double recording nine in each category. The sophomore guard shot 3-for-7 from the field, making a three-pointer and going 2-of-4 on free-throws, while also recording a steal.

The Mavericks had three double-digit scores led by Rebekah VanDijk. VanDijk scored 15 on a 6-of-13 shooting night, while also grabbing 8 rebounds and turning away two Jaguar shots.

GAME FACTS
- Ellis reached scored her 1,000th point on her second three-point bucket in the first three minutes of the game.
- The Jags trailed by a one-point margin at the end of the first quarter.
- Both teams attempted 13 shots in the opening quarter, with the Mavs making six to the Jags' five.
- In the second, UTA extended its lead to seven with 5:17 left in the quarter, its largest lead of the game.
- With the Mavs leading by seven with 2:16 remaining in the first-half, the Jags went on a 6-0 run with threes made by Erin Autio and Ellis to bring the lead to one going into the half.
- The second-half was all South Alabama as it outscored UTA 43-29 in the last two quarters, including 29-17 in the fourth.
- USA had its largest lead of the game at 15 points after a pair of made free-throws by Ellis with 18 seconds remaining in the game.
- The Jags dominated the boards taking the battle 43-26, including 13-7 on the offensive end and 30-19 on the defensive glass.
- South Alabama turned the 13 offensive boards into 12 second-chance points.
- The two squads were evenly matched in the paint with each scoring 24 points.
- USA had eight blocks to UTA's six.
- The Mavs turned 16 Jag turnovers into 20 points, while the Jags scored 18 off 14 Mavs turnovers.

NOTES
- Ellis became the 19th Jaguar in program history to reach 1,000 points.
- Her six blocks tied a season-high and she is now just five away from becoming the all-time leader in Sun Belt Conference history.
- Kines' nine rebounds tied a career-high, her nine helpers set a career-mark.
- Ellis had her seventh-double of the season and is the second-time this season she has had them in back-to-back games.
- The 17 rebound margin is the largest since the home-opening game against Georgia Southwestern when they outrebounded the Hurricanes by 18.
- The Jags were 0-5 when trailing at halftime this season until today's comeback.
- Head Coach Terry Fowler now has 49 wins during his career at South Alabama.
- Jones had her fourth-straight game with 10 or more points, and it was her 11th time in double figures this season.
- The Jags are 6-0 when scoring 70 or more points this season.

THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Terry Fowler
On the win: "That was a big one for us. We just talked about maintaining our character as a team and I am proud of them."

On bouncing back after the lost at Texas State: "The defense is what won it. We played outstanding everywhere on the floor. We rebounded the basketball and we were able to finish as a team."

On the large rebounding margin tonight: "We talked about rebounding the basketball. Every time we have outrebounded our opponents we have won the ball game. At Texas State we tied and we weren't able to pull it out. Rebounding is the name of the game and we did an outstanding job. I am just so proud of what we did today because this is a tough environment to play in and it was big to get this win."

Forward LaNeetra Guillory
On tying a career-high in points: "I thought my teammates really helped me tie my career-high tonight. We shared the ball well in this game and it allowed me to score."

On the chemistry of the team this year: "This year we have a lot of team chemistry. We're all on one page and we all have one goal. I believe that no matter what an individual does, we all want the win so we work hard to get the W."

C Chyna Ellis
On reaching her 1,000th point and how she has developed since her freshman season: "I've just tried to be consistent. I've tried to stay constant in improving my game and staying within my game. As a freshman, I started just as a back-to-the-basket post-player and now I'm a forward with how I play. But I really just want to win every night."

On how the team chemistry this year has helped her and her teammates on the floor: "When you have team chemistry, everybody knows what to expect from each other and everyone knows each other's' strengths and weaknesses. We have learned how to play with each other."

On how today's win will help on Saturday against Troy: "This just gives us confidence. UTA is a good team, Troy is a good team, and they play two different styles of basketball, but we're going to stick to our game plan and do what we have to do to come out with a win."

On inching closer to becoming the all-time leader in SBC history in blocks: "I feel blessed. Other than that, I can't really say how I feel. I'm just playing the game and it's coming to me. I just thank coach Fowler, my teammates and everyone who has been working with me and putting me in the right position to accomplish the feat."

UP NEXT
The Jaguars continue SBC play against Troy at the Mitchell Center on Saturday. Opening tip is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.

Mountaineers Fend Off Warhawks for First Sun Belt Win
MONROE, La. - Head coach Angel Elderkin wanted her young team to close out a tight game in the fourth quarter, and that's exactly what they did.

Appalachian State University women's basketball (3-12, 1-3 SBC) drained a school record 15 3-pointers and fended off a late ULM (4-11, 1-3 SBC) run to topple the Warhawks in a 71-67 triumph on Saturday afternoon in Fant-Ewing Coliseum for the first Sun Belt win of the season.

Tierra Wilson bounced back in a big way after just five points against Louisiana with a team and career-high 27 points on 8-for-17 shooting and tied a school mark with seven 3-pointers. The Winston-Salem native added five rebounds and three assists in a superb 40 minutes of running the offense. Nicola Mathews got in on the action as she tied a season best with 17 points highlighted by five trifectas. Lainey Gosnell rounded out the leading scorers with 11 points off the bench. She chipped into the 3-point contribution with three from beyond the arc. Bayley Plummer wouldn't score as she's capable of doing but did grab a game-high 16 rebounds with five points and three assists.

ULM cut an 18-point deficit to as low as two late in the fourth quarter, 69-67. However, LaPresha Stanley canned two at the line to extend the lead to a two-possession game with 11 seconds left in the game, which eventually led to the win. App State went a perfect 8-for-8 over the final 39 seconds of the game, including four free throws for Stanley. The 12-for-14 performance from the charity stripe is a season-high in free throw percentage at 85.7 percent.

The Mountaineers got off to a hot start hitting their first three field goals of the game en route to an 8-2 lead in the first 2:37 of the contest. After ULM had cut the lead to one, 8-7, the Apps went on a 10-4 run over the final 6:27 of the frame to go into the second period with an 18-11 advantage. Wilson scored nine of the points during the surge with three treys before Stanley ended the quarter with a free throw.

ULM kept the lead at seven, 21-14, in the second quarter until Wilson and Mathews drained back-to-back trifectas to push the lead to 13, 27-14. The Mountaineers wouldn't let the lead dip below nine points while the lead ballooned to 14 points at the half following a pair at the line from Wilson. Appalachian went into the break with a 35-21 edge thanks to the shooting duo of Wilson and Mathews, as the pair combined for 29 points and 9-for-11 from 3-point range. The defense clamped down on the Warhawks holding them to 7-for-28 shooting from the field and limited ULM to 3-for-16 shooting from the floor in the second period.

Mathews started off the Mountaineers right where they left off hitting the first shot of the second half from deep to push the lead to 17. Another trifecta by Wilson gave the Black and Gold their largest lead of the game at 18, 41-23. Gosnell got her offense going scoring eight of her points in the third quarter, including two 3-pointers in the final 1:14 of the frame to keep ULM at bay and take a 53-39 into the fourth frame.

The Warhawks climbed back into the game in the fourth quarter when they outscored Appalachian, 28-18. Cortez scored 19 of her game-high 28 points in the fourth shooting 6-for-8 from the field and hit five 3-pointers, which were some closely-contested shots. Going into the period, Cortez was just 3-of-9 from the field with nine points.

App State dominated the glass, 43-22, the most significant rebounding advantage of the season including 18 on the offensive side.

Appalachian will look to continue the momentum when it hosts Georgia State on Thursday at 5 p.m.

Quotable
" A lot of great moments today for our young team to build on. Tierra Wilson had an exceptional game. Obviously, her ability to knock down shots were huge, but it was even bigger to have her control our offense for 40 minutes. It was a great effort for our team." - Head coach Angel Elderkin

Tip-Ins
- App State is 6-0 all-time against ULM
- App State's three wins on ULM's home floor has been by a combined eight points
- Wilson has two 20-point performances this season. App is 2-0 in both contests
- Appalachian's 1.029 points per possession is a season high
- The Mountaineers are 3-1 when Mathews scores in double figures
- Plummer now has five outings with at least 15 rebounds
- Calder led the team with a plus/minus of seven in 23 minutes
- Wilson had a PER (Player Efficiency Rating) of 27, while Plummer rounded out the leaders with a PER of 18
- Appalachian assisted on 68 percent (15-22) of its field goals.
- In three wins, the Mountaineers have assisted on 74.6 (50-67) of their made buckets
- Mathews is shooting 57.6 percent (19-33) from 3-point range on the road

Four Red Wolves Score in Double-Figures in A-State Win
ATLANTA, Ga. (1/6/18) – Led by four players in double-figures the Arkansas State women’s basketball team won its second straight Sun Belt Conference game of the season with a 75-58 win over Georgia State Saturday afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena.

Lauren Bradshaw led the way with 21 points and seven rebounds, while Akasha Westbrook poured in 14 points, four rebounds and four assists. Morgan Wallace added a career-high 13 points and Payton Tennison finished in double-figures with 10 points.

A-State (8-7, 3-1 SBC) took advantage of its inside game in the first half and extended the lead out in the second half with timely 3-point shooting. The Red Wolves also got 29 points off 19 Georgia State turnovers and got 14 points off transition.

Arkansas State also shot well from the field and knocked down 49.2 percent of its shot attempts, while Georgia State (4-11, 0-4) made just 23-of-64 (35.9 percent) of its shots. A-State also shot 50 percent from beyond the arc on 10-of-20 shooting.

How It Happened (First Half):

Bradshaw scored 16 points in the first half on 8-of-11 shooting as the Red Wolves used a 12-2 run in the second quarter to build a 15-point margin.

Tennison gave A-State its first lead of the game on her first of three, 3-pointers that sparked a 7-0 run to push the lead to 13-10 in the first quarter.

Bradshaw helped the Red Wolves stretch the lead to eight points in the second period, but the Panthers responded with two quick baskets in transition that prompted an A-State timeout with just under 8-minutes left in the half.

A-State scored eight straight points in a wild sequence that began with a Tennison 3-pointer, followed by a layup from Peevy that just beat the shot clock. After the make, the Panthers failed to inbound the basketball and Wallace followed up the mistake with a 3-pointer to push the lead to 38-25 with 2:06 to go in the half.

The run extended to 12-2 after Bradshaw made back-to-back layups, before the Panthers hit a 3-pointer to set the halftime score at 42-30.

The Red Wolves shot 56.3 percent from the field in the first half, including 10-of-16 (62.5 percent) in the second quarter. A-State scored 21 points off 12 Panthers turnovers, while limiting themselves to just five turnovers.

How It Happened (Second Half):

Georgia State opened the second half in a press defense outscored the Red Wolves 15-10 over the first five minutes of the third quarter to cut the deficit to 52-45. Baskets by Madison Heckert and Westbrook pushed the lead back to double-digits and a 6-0 run close out the quarter gave the Red Wolves a 62-47 edge.

The lead grew to 18-points after a Wallace free throw made the score 70-52 with 3:49 to go in the game. Wallace finished with 10 of her 13 points in the second half and was aided by a 6-of-9 performance at the free throw line.

TXST Earns Second Consecutive Win, Downs Troy 83-75
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State women's basketball team (10-5, 3-1 SBC) handled the relentless pressure to hold off Troy (7-8, 2-2 SBC), 83-75, to close out the team's Sun Belt Conference home stand on Saturday afternoon inside of Strahan Coliseum. The win gives the Bobcats two-straight inside the conference and improves its record to 3-1 in the Sun Belt Conference.

"I told these girls they were in for a battle with this team," said head coach Zenarae Antoine. "Give Troy a lot of credit, they never gave up. They fought until the very end. It was encouraging to see our team compete like that for a full 40 minutes. Every win in the SBC is special and this one is no different."

After building a 12-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Bobcat offense exploded in to start the final stanza, knocking down 3-point attempts on four consecutive possessions. Taeler Deer drained the first three attempts, all from the left wing. Ericka May dropped in her only attempt from the top of the key, pushing the Bobcat lead to 19 points with just under eight minutes to play.

The Trojans used an 11-0 run to bring the score to 79-71 with 44 seconds left in the game. The run took just 1:13 on the game clock. Timely free throw shooting from Deer sealed the win for Texas State.

Texas State saw four starters score 10+ points on the afternoon and were led by guards Taeler Deer and Toshua Leavitt, both netted 23 points. Deer posted game-highs in both assists (10) and steals (seven). She finished the game shooting 7-of-18 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. Deer has scored 20 or more points in three contests this season.

Leavitt put on another shooting clinic, splashing home her first seven 3-point attempts of the game. The Missouri product has connected on 69 shots from deep this season, the third highest total in school history for one season. Last year, she made 77 attempts. Joyce Ekworomadu holds the single-season record, making 82 3-pointers during her senior season. For her career, Leavitt has knocked in 186 shots from behind the 3-point line, trailing only Sarah Wagner (196). Leavitt added four steals and three rebounds to her stat line.

Senior forward Ericka May posted her second double-double of the season, scoring a season-high 15 points while ripping down 11 rebounds. She has grabbed 10 or more rebounds on five occasions this season. Ti'Aira Pitts, who was plagued by foul trouble, made the most of her 21 minutes on the court. The senior scored 11 points and grabbed four rebounds.

Amber Rivers led the way for the visiting Troy Trojans. The sophomore notched a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, both team-highs. The Trojans outrebounded the Bobcats, 55-39, marking the largest rebound discrepancy for TXST this season. The battle of the benches also went Troy's way, as the visiting reserves outscored the home team, 35-3.

Texas State was stout defensively, forcing the erratic Trojans into 26 turnovers. The Bobcats turned those extra possessions into 32 points, outdueling Troy in points off of turnover by 11 points. Texas State also limited Troy's run-out opportunities, yielding just two fast break points.

The Bobcats head east to take on the Arkansas schools next week, first heading to Jonesboro for a clash with the Arkansas State Red Wolves on Jan. 11 at 5:30 p.m. Game two of the road trip will feature a matchup with the Little Rock Trojans at 3:00 p.m. on Jan. 13.

Brodhead Gets Career Win 100 As Cajuns Beat Coastal
LAFAYETTE – It was very fitting that Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball head coach Garry Brodhead got his 100th career win in a defensive showdown.

But that's what happened as the Cajuns beat the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, 59-55, here at the Cajundome for their third straight Sun Belt Conference win and coach Brodhead's 100th career win.

The 24 turnovers the Cajuns forced ties up the 24 turnovers they forced against Appalachian State, on Thursday, Jan. 4, and it means that in the past two games the Cajuns have forced 48 turnovers over the past two games combined. Louisiana's win improves their record to 8-8 (3-1 SBC) and the loss, Coastal's second straight, drops their record to 8-7 (2-2 SBC).

Freshman Skyler Goodwin lead the Cajuns in scoring with 17 points, on 6 for 9 shooting and senior Troi Swain had 10 points. Sophomore Kimberly Burton had a strong second half, and she finished with eight points and six rebounds to lead the Cajuns in rebounding.

HOW IT HAPPENED (First Quarter): Both teams came out of the gate slowly, with neither team scoring a basket in the first two and a half minutes of the game. Coastal got the scoring started with a basket at the 7:30 mark.

Goodwin, dribble drove the basket strong throughout the quarter and she nailed a layup at the 2:41 point to put the Cajuns up by one, she followed that up with another dribble drive that resulted in her going to the free throw line where she nailed both her free throws to tie it up at 11-11.

Louisiana's defensive pressure maintained their strength throughout the period and by the halfway point of the quarter the Chanticleers were in foul trouble as the Cajuns crawled back to take the lead late thanks to their free throw shooting, and along with Goodwin's two free throws and two free throws from sophomore Malachi-Seraphin Williams the Cajuns took a two-point lead into the quarter break, with the score at 13-11.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Second Quarter): Louisiana carried their strong defensive pressure into the second quarter, as they pressured the Chanticleers with no mercy. It caused Coastal to turn the ball over eight times in the quarter alone, and they had 11 in the first half, as the Cajuns began to pad their lead.

The Cajuns shot 50 percent from the field in the quarter, and at one point they were up by 11 on a layup from sophomore Brittney Myles. Coastal answered the Myles' basket, at 2:06, with a three-pointer to bring it back under single digits, but the Cajuns didn't lay off their pressure and sophomore Jasmine Thomas put the Cajuns back up by 10 with a layup as the clock hit one minute.

Coastal ended the quarter on a quick 5-2 run to cut the Cajuns lead to seven points, and the score was 34-27 as both teams entered the locker room at halftime.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Third Quarter): Louisiana started the half with a jump shot from Goodwin, to put the Cajuns back up by nine points. A three-pointer from senior Nekia Jones put the Cajuns back up by 10 points, but Coastal again cut it to single digits. The Cajuns then went on a 9-2 run to push their lead to a game high 15 points and it was wrapped up by a Burton layup at the 2:58 mark in the quarter.

But through the quarter Louisiana's defense was strong as they got nine points off of turnovers in the period, and a steal from Goodwin as the quarter wrapped up meant the Cajuns were up by 11 points, with the score at 50-39 Cajuns.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Fourth Quarter): Coastal, wouldn't go away without a fight, and they came out on a mission in the final period. They started to cut away at the lead and a scoring drought from the Cajuns, starting at the 7:02 mark, and carrying until Goodwin nailed a three-pointer to put the Cajuns up by seven at the 2:51 mark, meant that Coastal had come back into the game.

A quick 4-0 run from Coastal got them within three points, but that would be as close as the Chanticleers would get. As the Cajuns defense tightened the grips on Coastal, and a big charge taken by Goodwin at the 1:37 mark followed up by a huge steal from freshman Ty'Reonne Doucet with 1:06 left in the game, allowed the Cajuns to bleed out the clock.

Swain grabbed a huge board with 13 seconds left, and the Cajuns still up by three points. She called a timeout and on the inbound was fouled and she went to the line with a chance to ice the game. Swain nailed one of two from the line, and the four-point lead was all the Cajuns needed as they fought off the Chanticleer's late game charge to get their third straight conference win, 59-55.

NOTEWORTHY: When factoring in Alcorn State, the Cajuns have forced 70 turnovers in their past three home games; Goodwin scored her 17 points on 6 for 9 shooting and the six made field goals ties a career high.

The Cajuns haven't given up over 60 points at home since Auburn scored 70 on Dec. 8, 2017; The Cajuns have outscored their last three opponents at the Cajundome 187-147, and they haven't lost a home game since losing 70-60 to Auburn.

UP NEXT FOR THE CAJUNS: Louisiana returns to the Cajundome for the final game of their three-game home stand when they welcome the ULM Warhawks on Saturday, Jan. 13, with that game starting at 4 p.m.

They'll then hit the road as they head out on the Texas swing as they'll take on UT-Arlington on Thursday, Jan. 18 in Arlington, Texas and they'll finish off that trip visiting San Marcos, Texas to take on Texas State on Saturday, Jan. 20.