Trojans Sweep Season Series Against Red Wolves
JONESBORO, Ark. – First-place Little Rock women's basketball brought itself within a game of clinching a share of the Sun Belt Conference Regular-Season Championship as it defeated rival Arkansas State 64-58 on Saturday afternoon at First National Bank Arena.
The win was Little Rock's fifth consecutive over Arkansas State — the longest winning streak by either side since 2006. The victory also clinched a bye for Little Rock in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and guaranteed the Trojans as being one of the top four seeds.
Keanna Keys led the Trojans (16-9, 13-1 Sun Belt) with 16 points and a game-high eight rebounds in 31 minutes while shooting 7-for-9. Tori Lasker finished with 15 points while Ronjanae DeGray earned 12 points and seven rebounds. Monique Townson led the game with six assists and tallied eight points with six rebounds.
Jada Ford put up a team-high 16 points for the Red Wolves (13-12, 8-6 Sun Belt). Akasha Westbrook was the only other A-State player in double figures as she finished with 12 points and a game-high five steals after fouling out with just under seven minutes remaining.
The Trojans and Red Wolves were neck and neck in the fourth quarter as Little Rock outscored Arkansas State 14-13 in the final 10 minutes. With Little Rock up by seven, Arkansas State went on a 5-0 run to cut the Trojans' lead to two at 56-54 with 5:28 remaining. That was as close as Arkansas State got to Little Rock's lead as the Trojans went back up by seven with 2:55 left. Keys led the period with six points after going 2-for-2 from field and 2-for-2 from the foul line. In the second half alone, Keys was 6-for-6 from the field after going 1-for-3 in the first half.
Fouls mounted up for the Trojans in the third quarter as the Red Wolves went 9-for-11 from the charity stripe. Arkansas State made it a five-point game at 50-45 by outscoring Little Rock for the second consecutive quarter. The Red Wolves went on runs of six and seven points each during the period while the Trojans' longest was four. Keys was 4-for-4 in the quarter with three rebounds. Little Rock was 8-for-13 (61.5%) from the field while A-State was 5-for-11 (45.5%)
The second quarter was a tight one as the Red Wolves outscored the Trojans by just one point in the period at 14-13. Little Rock was 6-for-12 in the quarter while A-State was 5-for-12 (41.7%). With Little Rock up 11, Arkansas State closed the gap with a 5-0 run. Ronjanae DeGray led the quarter with six points by going 3-for-4 from the field.
Little Rock began the game with a 21-12 lead over Arkansas State as Lasker led the Trojans with five points. After Arkansas State scored the game's first basket, Little Rock went on a 7-0 run to go up 7-2. The Red Wolves battled back with a 7-2 run of their own to knot the game at 9-all. Up 15-12, Little Rock ended the quarter on a 6-0 run with a jumper and four consecutive free throws. The Trojans were 7-for-16 (43.8%) in the period while the Red Wolves were 4-for-13 (30.8%).
Yanina Inkina finished with five points and two rebounds. Kira Shepard and Terrion Moore each tallied four points.
Little Rock will look to clinch a share of the Sun Belt Conference Regular-Season Championship and the No. 1 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament against Coastal Carolina on Thursday. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Jack Stephens Center.
Rivers Leads Trojans to Victory
BOONE, North Carolina – Amber Rivers scored a career-high 27 points as Troy women's basketball downed Appalachian State, 93-64, at the Holmes Center on Saturday.
Rivers scored 24 points in the second half and finished the game 6-for-8 from 3-point range as the Trojans dug out of an early hole to win its seventh game in its last eight outings.
Troy (14-11, 9-5 Sun Belt) trailed 21-9 after one quarter shooting just 16 percent in the opening 10 minutes. Conversely, App State (7-19, 5-10) opened red-hot knocking down six of its first seven shots, including all three 3-point attempts building a 14-point first quarter lead.
Kayla Robinson and Chelsey Gibson combined for 13 points in the second stanza as the Trojans outscored the Mountaineers 25-12 and took a 34-33 lead into the break.
Rivers scored 12 of the team's first 14 points in the second half and finished as one of four Trojans in double figures. Kayla Robinson turned in 15 points with Jasmine Robinson adding 14. Gibson was a rebound shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
The game snowballed for Appalachian State in the fourth quarter as Troy won the frame 34-9 and led by as many as 31.
Bayley Plummer tallied her league-leading 12th double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
UP NEXT
Troy returns home to face Louisiana on Feb. 22 and ULM for Senior Day on Feb. 24 in Trojan Arena.
NOTEWORTHY
• Troy's 93 points marked the eighth time this season the team has eclipsed the 90-point plateau.
• The Trojans outrebounded Appalachian State 55-42 in the game, including 27 on the offensive glass.
• For the third consecutive game, Troy set a season-low in turnovers with seven on Saturday. The Trojans turned the ball over just nine times at Coastal Carolina and 11 time a week ago against Little Rock.
For more information on Troy women's basketball, visit TroyTrojans.com or follow the team on Twitter at @TroyTrojansWBB.
Strong Fourth Quarter Lifts Coastal Past USA on Senior Day
CONWAY - After trailing for the game's first three quarters, the Coastal Carolina women's basketball team scored 25 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to propel the Chants to a 71-56 victory over South Alabama at the HTC Center Saturday afternoon.
Coastal improves to 14-12, 8-7 with its third straight win, while South Alabama falls to 15-10, 8-6 as its losing streak is extended to five games.
The Chants trailed by nine going into the fourth quarter, but began the final frame with 25 straight points over the first eight minutes. South Alabama did not score until there was only one minute left. The quarter ended with Coastal outscoring USA 28-4.
DJ Williams led all players scoring 27 points, shooting 9-of-20 from the field and 9-of-10 from the line. Jas Adams followed with 19 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter alone. Naheria Hamilton added 12 points. All three players pulled in eight rebounds as the Chants held a 42-31 advantage on the boards.
Coastal shot 38 percent from the field for the game, but 76 percent in the fourth quarter as it made 10 of its 13 attempts. The Chanticleer defense held the Jags without a field goal in the final quarter, with USA getting all four of its points from the line.
South Alabama's 3-point shooting helped the Jags take an 18-12 lead over the Chants by the end of the first quarter. USA received all of its first-quarter points from beyond the arc as the Jags finished the frame 6-of-9 from long range. The Chants made just three field goals in the first 10 minutes but were perfect at the line, converting all six attempts.
USA maintained its lead for the entirety of the second quarter, though Coastal made it a one-possession game on six occasions. The last came with a just over a minute remaining in the half, following a 6-0 Coastal run to make it 31-29. USA countered with six straight points in the remaining time however, giving the Jags a 37-29 lead at the break. Coastal limited USA to only a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter, but the Jags shot 57 percent (8-14) from the field overall.
USA outscored Coastal 15-14 in the third quarter to carry a nine-point lead into the fourth. Williams and Adams combined to score all of Coastal's points in the frame.
Coastal's deficit was erased just two minutes into the fourth quarter. Williams and Hamilton combined to score the Chants' first seven points of the quarter before Adams' scored all 12 of her fourth-quarter points consecutively. Williams added four more points before the buzzer, and Mery Visone chipped in three points from the free-throw line.
In the final two home games of her CCU career, Adams averaged 29.5 points and 9.5 rebounds. She is now just 13 points shy of becoming the ninth Chanticleer in program history to score 500 points in a season, and needs 68 points to tie for 11th place among Coastal's all-time career scorers.
The Chants are back on the road this week, heading to Little Rock on Thursday and Arkansas State on Saturday.
Shorthanded Bobcats Down ULM, 81-45
MONROE, La. – The Texas State women's basketball team (18-8, 11-4 SBC) earned the weekend sweep of the Pelican-state, beating ULM (4-21, 1-13 SBC), 81-45, inside the Fant Ewing Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. The victory gives the Bobcats 18 wins on the season, the most in the Coach Z era at Texas State. The last time the Bobcats won at least 18 games in a season was the 2007-08 campaign, a year that ended in an NIT berth.
"The way ULM switched every screen really opened some things up for us on the offensive end," head coach Zenarae Antoine said. "We were able to take advantage of some mismatches on the inside with Ti'Aira Pitts being matched up on guards. She has really established herself on the block, not only with her back to the basket but in the face up game."
The Bobcats dominated the game from the opening tip, jumping out to a 29-18 lead at the end of the first quarter. Pitts was the catalyst for the Texas State offense, scoring eight points in seven minutes of action in the first quarter. The senior forward would finish the game with a career-high 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Pitts also turned back four shots, matching her career-best effort.
Despite the obvious size advantage possessed by ULM, Texas State owned the battle in the paint, outscoring ULM 42-22 in the key. The Bobcats were able to outrebound the Warhawks by a count of 42-28 and turned 18 offensive rebounds into 13 second chance points. Finally, the Bobcats swatted a season-high eight ULM shots.
After yielding 18 points in the first quarter, the Texas State defense locked in. ULM connected on 9-of-35 (25.7 percent) from the floor over the final 30 minutes of action. In the second quarter alone, TXST held ULM without a made field goal for nearly seven full minutes. The Warhawks committed 19 turnovers, which the Bobcats turned into 27 points.
Brooke Holle continued her high level of play, pouring in 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Holle has reached the 20-point plateau four times this season, including both games of this road sweep. The sophomore guard also collected a team-high 10 rebounds, notching her second career double-double.
For the second time this season, Taeler Deer nearly posted a triple-double. Deer led the team with 22 points and eight assists to go along with seven rebounds. The senior guard chipped in three steals in the win.
Without Toshua Leavitt the Bobcats entered the weekend shorthanded. Leavitt's replacement in the starting lineup, Bailey Holle, suffered a minor injury during the first quarter and was unable to return. The bench was forced to step up. Zelor Massaquoi scored eight points and ripped down six rebounds to lead the Texas State bench mob. Dabrasia Baty played a season-high 31 minutes and dished out a career-high six assists.
The Bobcats be back at home for the remainder of the regular season, starting with a Thursday afternoon clash with the Georgia State Panthers. The game will be Texas State's annual Kid's Game and will tip at noon. On Feb. 24 TXST will host Georgia Southern, tip is scheduled for 2 p.m. Finally, the Bobcats will close out the season with in-state rival UTA on March 3. The regular season finale will represent Senior Day for Texas State's five seniors. Tip is slated for 2 p.m. from Strahan Coliseum.
GEORGIA STATE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL WINS FIFTH STRAIGHT OVER RIVAL EAGLES
STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia State’s women’s basketball team defeated rival Georgia Southern for the fifth straight time Saturday with a 66-58 victory at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Panthers led by 15 points in the third quarter, but the Eagles battled all the way back to take a 54-53 lead with 4:49 left in the game. GSU used back-to-back 3-pointers by Janessa Murphy to jump back in front.
GSU ended the game on a 14-4 run to secure the victory.
Madison Newby scored 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting to lead the Panthers offense. Newby, the Sun Belt’s top free throw shooter, made 8-of-12 from the stripe as well.
Janessa Murphy just narrowly missed a double-double, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds. Murphy hit four 3-pointers in the game.
Francesca Minali also came close to a double-double with 12 rebounds and seven points.
Georgia State shot 47% from the field and out-rebounded Georgia Southern 41-34.
With the win, the Panthers earn another point for GSU in the Rivalry Series, which Georgia State now leads 9.5-1.5 over the Eagles from Statesboro.
Georgia State is on the road again next week as the Panthers travel to Texas State and UT Arlington.
Lady Mavs Take Defensive Battle With Cajuns
LAFAYETTE, La. - UT Arlington found itself on the top end of a defensive battle at the Cajundome, downing Louisiana 38-33 to sweep the season series with the Ragin' Cajuns.
Taking Saturday's matchup, UTA improved to 16-10 overall and 10-5 in the Sun Belt. The win pushed the Lady Mavs' winning streak to a league best five games, while winning eight of the last night games. Louisiana went to 13-13 and 8-6 in the league.
The fourth quarter put a stamp on an offensive struggle with UTA having its best defensive performance of the campaign. After making its opening shot of the period, Louisiana went the final nine minutes without making a field goal. UTA took advantage to push into the lead, clinching the day on a pair of free throws from Laurynn McGowen with 2.9 seconds on the clock. The 38 points were the fewest for UTA in a win in program history.
Rebekah VanDijk led UTA's offense with 11 points, the lone Lady Maverick in double figures as UTA shot just 34.9 percent from the field. Louisiana finished at just 20.9 percent from the field as Skyler Goodwin had a game-high 14 points. UTA struggled to knock it down from long range as Lauren Billie and Brooke Alexander had UTA's treys. Louisiana hit just 1-of-14 attempts.
The Lady Mavs head into the final home week of the regular season with its destiny to earn a bye in their hands. If UTA were to take the final three games, the Lady Mavs would finish as the second seed heading into the SBC Championship tournament in March. UTA begins the week at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday against Georgia Southern, the last team to top the Lady Mavs. UTA then celebrates Senior Day on Saturday at 2 p.m. vs. Georgia State. The final regular season game sees UTA travel down I-35 for the in-state rivalry with Texas State, currently the second seed.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter: Scoring was at a premium as both sides battled on defense. More than three minutes went by without a point as the teams were a combined 0-for-7 to start the game. VanDijk provided UTA's points with a lay in inside, while Louisiana had five of its seven first quarter points at the line.
Second Quarter:
It was a similar second 10 minutes with Louisiana finding success by getting to the line. The Cajuns had eight points from the line in the first half. Brooke Alexander knocked down a long range 3-pointer midway through the period to push UTA into the lead. Louisiana responded by holding the Lady Mavs without a point for the next two minutes. Lauren Billie connected on UTA's second trey of the quarter, but Louisiana took a one-point advantage into the break as a short jumper fell at the buzzer.
Third Quarter: The Lady Mavs seemed to have momentum out of the break as VanDijk was one of two UTA players to hit on shots to open the quarter. However, a drought of more than two minutes left both teams without points with UTA leading by one at the 4:21 media timeout. Just 1-of-7 shooting down the stretch left UTA without a field goal for the final three minutes of the third. The Ragin' Cajuns took advantage to score the stanza's final four points. UTA was 0-of-4 from deep in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter: Louisiana scored the opening points of the quarter to give itself the largest lead of the game for either side at four points, with UTA not hitting on its first three attempts, UTA coach Krista Gerlich took a timeout to calm down the offense. After Louisiana went up by four, UTA ended its drought with a run into the lead with Shelby Richards slicing through the lane for the 17th lead change of the day to go up one with under five to play.
With both teams going more than six minutes without a field goal, three consecutive turnovers hampered Louisiana's ability to try to pull ahead. UTA would get buckets from McGowen to regain the lead, while the junior knocked down the clinching free throws with seconds on the clock.