Sun Belt Champs! Trojans Win Outright League Title
LITTLE ROCK – Champions once again. For the second consecutive season, Little Rock women's basketball won the Sun Belt Conference Regular-Season Championship outright with a 61-35 victory against Appalachian State on Saturday afternoon at the Jack Stephens Center.
The victory marked Little Rock's fifth regular-season title and was the third in the past four years. Little Rock now has a combined 14 regular season, division and tournament titles — all in head coach Joe Foley's tenure (2003-present).
The Trojans (18-9, 15-1 Sun Belt) were led by senior Monique Townson in her final home game as she had a team-high 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Graduate Keanna Keys also played her final home game at the Jack and finished with seven points, three rebounds and two steals. Freshman Tori Lasker tallied 10 points to go along with three rebounds and three assists. Little Rock ended the game shooting 27-for-46 from the field (42.2%), 4-for-10 from three and 3-for-7 (42.9%) from the foul line.
The Mountaineers (7-21, 5-12 Sun Belt) had just one player in double figures as LaPresha Stanley finished the game with 10 points and six assists. Bayley Plummer had a game-high 11 rebounds in addition to seven points. App State was 13-for-46 (28.3%) from the field, 0-for-13 from three and 9-for-17 (52.9%) from the foul line.
The Trojans went into the fourth quarter with an insurmountable 30-point lead. Up 54-29, Townson and Keys stepped off the Jack Stephens Center floor for the final time with 5:33 left to play. Raeyana DeGray led the Trojans with five points and three rebounds in the final 10 minutes of action. All 12 of Little Rock's fourth-quarter points came off the bench.
Little Rock held App State to just 15.4 percent (2-for-13) in the third quarter as it outscored the Mountaineers 13-6. Townson was the period's leading scorer with four points and two assists. Up 38-17, Little Rock scored nine consecutive points to take its largest lead of the game at 47-17. Eight of Little Rock's 13 points came off App State turnovers.
The Trojans ended the first half with a 36-13 lead over the Mountaineers after outscoring App State 14-7 in the second quarter. Little Rock was 7-for-16 (43.8%) for the period while App State was 3-for-10. Up 30-13 with 3:41 left in the quarter, the Trojans ended the half on a six-point run thanks to jumpers from Lasker, Yanina Inkina and Townson.
Little Rock was scorching in the first quarter as it shot 10-for-17 (58.8%) while ending the period with a 22-6 lead. The Trojans held the Mountaineers to just 21.4 percent (3-for-14) and forced six App State turnovers. Little Rock began the game on a 9-0 run before App State finally responded. After the Mountaineers' bucket, the Trojans finished the quarter on a 13-4 run. Lasker led the quarter with eight points after going 3-for-5 from the field with two threes.
Ronjanae DeGray ended the game with eight points and six rebounds while Inkina finished the game with eight points, two rebounds and two assists. Terrion Moore came away with six points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Raeyana DeGray ended up with five points and six boards, and Kyra Collier tallied four points, three rebounds and two steals. Kira Shepard had three points off a three-point shot.
In their time with the Trojans, Keys and Townson have helped the Trojans to a 46-1 record in home conference games, a 78-14 record in Sun Belt games and an overall record of 109-48 since 2013.
With its final home game at the Jack in the books, Little Rock will now travel to ULM for its next-to-last regular-season contest on Thursday at 5 p.m.
Troy Routs ULM, 94-62
TROY, Alabama – Troy wrapped up its 2017-18 home schedule with a 94-62 win over ULM on Saturday in Trojan Arena. The Trojans finish the year 11-1 at home, the best mark in Trojan Arena history.
Troy (16-11, 11-5 Sun Belt) won its ninth in its last 10 games behind another team-high scoring performance by Kayla Robinson, who finished with 21 points on 8 of 15 shooting. Robinson has led the Trojans in scoring in nine games this season.
ULM (4-23, 1-15) led after one quarter but could not handle the high-pressure Troy defense. The Trojans did not allow a Warhawk field goal for the first nine minutes of the second period forcing 13 turnovers en route to a 39-25 halftime lead.
Troy led by as many as 35 in the game and forced 36 turnovers. Amber Rivers scored 14 in the third quarter alone and finished with 16 points, the 22nd time in 27 games she's scored in double digits. Jasmine Robinson, Chelsey Gibson and Sky'Lynn Holmes scored 12 points each.
The Trojans shot 50.7 percent from the field, the second-highest of the season, despite hitting just 3 of 12 shot from 3-point range. Senior Dajia Williams tied with Holmes for the team lead with eight rebounds, while Jasmine and Kayla Robinson had five assists each.
QUOTABLE
"We are continuing to set goals and reach to goals," Troy head coach Chanda Rigby said. "Our overall goal is to be the most improved team by the time we get to the Sun Belt Tournament."
UP NEXT
Troy finishes the regular season next week on the road at Georgia State on Thursday and Georgia Southern on Saturday. The Sun Belt Conference Tournament is set to begin on March 6 in New Orleans.
Lady Mavs Outlast Georgia State On Senior Day
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Seniors Rebekh VanDijk and Shelby Richards each scored in double figures to help lead the UTA Lady Mavericks to a 62-57 win over Georgia State on Senior Day Saturday at College Park Center.
UTA (18-10, 12-5 Sun Belt Conference) wrapped up its home schedule with its seventh consecutive win, finishing February a perfect 7-0. UTA finished 2017-18 with a 13-2 record at College Park Center. The Lady Mavs took a six-point lead into halftime and after being outscored in the third quarter, finished the game strong behind its seniors, Richards, VanDijk and Miranda LeJune.
Georgia State (7-20, 3-13 Sun Belt) had its offense come alive in the second half, evening the game at 42-42 in the second half. Overall, the Mavs held Georgia State to 40 percent shooting from the field, with UTA outscoring Georgia State in the paint, 28-12 and 11-0 in fast break points.
LEADING THE MAVS
VanDijk, the UTA all-time leading rebounder, had 13 points and eight rebounds in the win. Richards, a native of South Jordan, Utah, had 12 points, four rebounds and four assists. Aysia Evans finished with 10 points, with Lejune dishing out a team-high five assists. Brooke Alexander added eight points, with Lauren Billie charting a six-point game. Kelsey Johnson had four points and a rebound in 14 minutes.
NEXT
The Lady Mavs wrap up the regular season on Saturday at Texas State at 2 p.m. CT.
FIRST QUARTER
After the Panthers opened the scoring, Richards found VanDijk to get the Mavs on the board, with Billie's first basket giving UTA a 4-2 lead. After two buckets from Georgia State, Richards got on the board and a banked-in jumper put the Mavs in an 8-6 hole. After falling behind 11-8, Alexander splashed a triple to end the quarter and even it at 11-11.
SECOND QUARTER
Kelsey Johnson got the Mavs on the board in the second in the paint and Richards splashed the first of two threes in the quarter for a 18-14 lead. She drilled her second for a seven-point lead, with a jumper from Daiane Machaco and free throws from Johnson taking UTA's lead to 23-19. Alexander connected on her second three of the game to put the Mavs up 27-21.
THIRD QUARTER
Georgia State opened the scoring with a layup and VanDijk stretched the lead with an and-one conversion and a jumper for a 34-29 lead. This opened a stretch of over seven minutes of game action where Georgia State didn't score from the field. UTA took a 38-32 lead into the break after an Aysia Evans steal and coast-to-coast layup in transition.
FOURTH QUARTER
VanDijk connected in the paint to open the fourth and give UTA a 42-39 lead. Richards was spotte in the paint by LeJune to break a 42-42 tie with 7:09 left. The Mavs then stretched its lead after Billie hauled down a defensive rebound and found Evans on the wing in transition for a three. The Panthers evened it at 49-49 with three minutes left and LeJune immediately responded with a triple from the top of the key for a 52-49 lead with 2:46 left. Evans then stretched the lead with a three for a five-point lead with two minutes left in regulation. Billie then finalized the win after a steal and basket in transition, getting fouled for a 57-50 lead. The Panthers had a chance under a minute, as UTA missed a pair of free throws and gave GSU the ball back, down four with 50.9 seconds left. UTA got the defensive stop and hit a free throw but Georgia State narrowed the lead to 59-56 with 26.1 left. Laurynn McGowen hit a pair of free throws to take the lead to 61-56.
Coastal Wins 73-65 at Arkansas State
JONESBORO, Ark. - With the regular season winding down and several spots in the Sun Belt Conference standings still up for grabs, the Coastal Carolina women's basketball team won an important game at Arkansas State on Saturday, defeating the Red Wolves 73-65 in First National Bank Arena.
Coastal's second road win of the season improves the Chants to 15-13 overall, and 9-8 in the Sun Belt. Arkansas State, which entered the game in sixth place, falls to 14-13, 9-7.
For the fifth time in her last seven games Jas Adams surpassed 20 points, leading all players with 21 on 8-20 with three triples. Naheria Hamilton recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and DJ Williams added 12 points and four assists.
Coastal shot 42 percent from the field for the game, helping to offset its 20 turnovers. The Chants also held a 47-31 advantage in rebounds.
Arkansas State was led by the 12 points of Jada Ford, and 10 points of Akasha Westbrook.
The lead changed sides five times throughout the first quarter, but the game remained even after 10 minutes of play as the teams each scored 17 points to open the game.
The game remained close early in the second quarter, but the Chants began pulling away thanks to a 9-2 run that surrounded the period's media timeout. The run led to a nine point lead for the Chants, the largest of the half. With momentum on its side Coastal appeared ready to carry a double-digit lead into halftime, but Arkansas State closed the final two minutes of the half with six straight points to trim the Chants' lead to just three points, 37-34, at the break.
Adams led all players at the break with 19 points, hitting seven of her 12 first-half attempts from the field, including a trio of 3-pointers. The senior also made both of her free throw attempts.
Coastal retained its lead throughout the entirety of the third quarter, though nine points continued to be the largest lead of the game. The Chants held that advantage on three different occasions, the final time coming with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter. Once again however, A-State strung together a run late in the quarter, outscoring the Chants 7-2 over the final two minutes to make it a four-point game heading into the final frame.
Coastal scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to take its first double-digit advantage of the day. The Chants never relinquished their lead, and led by at least six points for the remainder of the game. Adams was held off the board for the entirety of fourth quarter, but Williams and Hamilton combined to score 10 of the Chants' 20 points over the final 10 minutes of play.
Coastal closes out the regular season next Saturday at Appalachian State. Tip off from Boone, N.C., is slated for 1 p.m. The Chants defeated the Mountaineers at the HTC Center on Feb. 10, and have yet to lose to App in the regular season since joining the Sun Belt.
TXST Hits 20-Win Plateau in Win over Georgia Southern, 60-51
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State women's basketball team (20-8, 13-4 SBC) survived a hotly contested game against Georgia Southern (5-22, 2-14 SBC), 60-51, inside Strahan Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. The victory gives Texas State 20 wins in a season for the sixth time in program history. The most recent occurrence came during the 2007-08 campaign, a season that ended with an NIT berth. That team was recognized at halftime of Saturday's contest.
The Bobcats will close out the regular season against 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.
Ragin' Cajuns Snap Losing Streak With Win At USA
MOBILE, Ala. – Freshman Jomyra Mathis snagged a big rebound with 6.7 seconds left and her two free throws on the other end iced the, 59-56, Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team's exciting win over the South Alabama Jaguars at the Mitchell Center Saturday night.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Cajuns and it evened out their record at 14-14 (9-7 SBC) while for the Jaguars it was their sixth loss in seven games and their record drops to 16-11 (9-7 SBC).
Mathis finished with six points and a career high six rebounds, while freshman Ty'Reonne Doucet scored a team high 15 points, while adding five boards of her own to lead the way for Louisiana. Senior Troi Swain added eight points and eight rebounds and sophomore Kimberly Burton grabbed five boards (seven points) to help the Cajuns outrebound (42-35) and outscore the Jaguars in the paint (32-22) for a win in their final road game of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED (First Quarter): South Alabama came out on a 6-2 run to jump on the Cajuns early, but Louisiana was ready as they responded with back-to-back baskets from sophomore Brittney Myles and Mathis things then went a bit back and forth between the two teams.
Neither team could take control of the quarter, but Doucet did have herself a quarter. She finished with six points and three rebounds in the period as the Cajuns finished on an 8-2 run, powered by senior Simone Fields scoring four off the bench and Louisiana holding South Alabama to 2 for 10 from the field. The Cajuns took a six-point lead into the second quarter with the score at 20-14.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Second Quarter): South Alabama came out on a 6-0 run to tie things up at 20-20, but Doucet was there again as she ended the run with a layup at the 7:21 mark of the quarter. Both teams traded leads, with the game getting tied up for the fifth time (26-26) when the clock hit the 1:50 mark.
Over the final two minutes, South Alabama attempted to head into the locker room with a decent sized lead, and they hit a three-point basket along with a layup to go up 31-28 with just under 40 seconds to go. But Burton seized an opportunity to cut into that lead, and she followed her own miss right back kissing one off the glass as the clock ticked near zero to pull the Cajuns within one point.
When the teams entered the locker room, the Cajuns had a ten-point advantage in the paint (24-14) and they trailed the Jaguars by one point, 31-30 after two quarters of play.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Third Quarter): Sophomore Malachi-Seraphin Williams came out and nailed a basket from downtown and Burton added a layup to put the Cajuns up by four within the first two and a half minutes. But the Cajuns would go cold from the field over the next five minutes of the quarter, only getting points from the line during the stretch.
But South Alabama couldn't take advantage of the Cajuns cold shooting and the points scored at the line allowed the Cajuns to keep South Alabama within arm's length. And with one and a half minutes left in the period the Cajuns were down by only one point when Doucet ended the run with a layup.
Freshman Skyler Goodwin then hit back-to-back baskets to power the Cajuns to a 3 for 3 finish from the field to end the quarter, and both teams went tick for tack down the final minute of the quarter and as the game entered the final period the game was tied for a seventh time, 45-45.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Fourth Quarter): Louisiana pushed their lead to five points with two quick back-to-back shots made by Swain and with six minutes to go the Cajuns went up 51-46. Attempts by South Alabama to cut into the lead were met by the Cajuns answering their baskets and when the clock hit 2:30 Mathis spun around a defender and hit a floating jumper to put the Cajuns up by seven points, 56-49.
But the cold bug again bit the Cajuns, as Louisiana would fail to hit another shot from the field in the game and things got dicey down the stretch. With 44 seconds left in the game, both teams traded free throws and it was 57-54 in favor of the Cajuns. South Alabama came down the floor and followed their own miss with a basket to pull within one point, 57-56.
Heartbreak almost struck the Cajuns as Mathis mishandled the inbound pass right in front of the Cajuns bench to turn it right back over to the Jaguars. Mathis, who was visibly upset over her mistake, saw fit to make up in a big way. The Jags came back down the court and attempted a shot from beyond the arc with seven seconds left. But it clanked off the right side of the rim where Mathis came flying in to forcefully grab the board and draw the foul.
Mathis then went to the line with a chance to put the Cajuns up by three, and she didn't disappoint as the freshman nailed both from the line to force the Jags to make another attempt at a three-point basket to tie. South Alabama's last-ditch effort from three, failed to find its target and Fields snagged the board to end the game with the Cajuns coming away with the win 59-56.
NOTEWORTHY: Doucet's 15 points was one off her career high; Six rebounds for Mathis is a career high; Swain's eight rebounds ties a career high; It's the fourth straight game where the Cajuns had fewer turnovers then their opponents; The Cajuns outscored South Alabama 32-22 in the paint.
UP NEXT FOR THE CAJUNS: Louisiana returns to the Cajundome for the final weekend of the 2017-18 regular season when they host Arkansas State on Thursday, Mar. 1 and they'll wrap up the regular season on senior night by hosting Little Rock on Saturday, Mar. 3.