Richards Leads Mavs Past Coastal Carolina
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Senior Shelby Richards scored a career-high 20 points to help lead the UTA Lady Mavericks to a 65-63 win over Coastal Carolina on Saturday afternoon at College Park Center.
UTA (13-10, 7-5 Sun Belt Conference) outlasted a strong second-half charge from Coastal Carolina (11-12, 5-7 Sun Belt) to post the win. The Mavs leaned heavily on the career outing from Richards and a used a hearty second quarter to edge the Chanticleers.
LEADING THE MAVS
Richards, a native of South Jordan, Utah, shattered her previous career high of 16 points with a 20-point outing. She sank four triples - including three in the first quarter - and was 7-for-16 from the field, adding four rebounds.
Crystal Allen and Rebekah VanDijk also each reached double figures, despite the VanDijk battling foul trouble. VanDijk finished with 11 points and two rebounds in 15 minutes, with Allen adding 11 points and six boards. UTA also got five points each from guards Aysia Evans and Lauren Billie.
NEXT
The Mavs return to action on Saturday, hosting Texas State at 2 p.m. CT at College Park Center in a game broadcast live on ESPN3.com.
FIRST QUARTER
UTA started strong with a 6-0 run spurred by a pair of baskets from VanDijk and a jumper from Billie. Coastal Carolina cut the lead to one after a three pointer with 5:37 left but UTA spurted back behind a pair of 3 pointers from Richards to take a 15-9 lead at the first media timeout. Coastal answered to tie it up at 15 and 17 but Richards' third triple of the quarter gave UTA a 20-17 lead, with the game noted at 22-22 after a Richards layup to end the quarter.
SECOND QUARTER
The Mavs rolled in the second quarter, outscoring Coastal 18-8 to take a 40-30 halftime lead. The Lady Mavs opened the scoring behind two baskets from Daiane Machado and a jumper from Allen. After Coastal tied it at 28, UTA scored 12 of the next 14 points to take the halftime lead. Jumpers inside the arc from Aysia Evans and Brooke Alexander, and the first three from Evans, took UTA to a 38-25 lead at the media timeout. The Mavs defense stiffened to finish the period, holding CCU scoreless over the last 3:44 in the period, with Coastal shooting 1-for-its-last-9 to end the quarter. The Lady Mavs committed only three turnovers in the half and owned an 11-3 advantage in points off turnovers.
THIRD QUARTER
The Lady Mavs used a jumper from Richards and a triple from Allen to build a 45-32 lead out of the break. The Chants roared back, going on an 11-0 run over a four-minute stretch to cut the UTA lead to two with 3:17 left in the period. Contested baskets from Allen and Kelsey Johnson stretched UTA back to a six-point lead, with Allen sinking a pair of free throws after a CCU three to take a 53-48 lead into the quarter break.
FOURTH QUARTER
CCU opened the final stanza with a jumper to cut the lead but Miranda LeJune responded with a basket to take the lead to 55-50. The teams traded defensive stops until Billie drilled a three from the corner, only to have CCU answer on the ensuing possession with a three from the wing. With 4:20 left in regulation, Richards connected in the paint to send UTA to a 60-55 lead. Jas Adams' three-pointer from the corner cut the UTA lead to 60-58 with three minutes left.
VanDijk, mired in foul trouble, came off the bench to answer after a find from Allen and then sank a pair from the charity stripe for a 64-58 lead with just over two minutes left. A quick 5-0 CCU run cut the UTA lead to 64-63 with 40 seconds left. With the full-court pressure applied, VanDijk found an open Richards in the lane, with Richards forcing a foul with 33.4 seconds left. She drilled the first attempt to give the Mavs a two-point lead but after missing the second free throw, the Mavs fouled while attempting to get the offensive rebound but CCU missed both attempts from the charity stripe and the ball skidded off the Chants out of bounds. CCU had a final look at the basket, with the attempted game-winning triple skimming off the rim.
Thomas Leads Cajuns To 28 Point Win At ULM
MONROE, La. – Sophomore Jasmine Thomas filled up the stat sheet, with 13 points, seven assists and five steals, while the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team racked up the points to come away with a, 76-48, 28-point win, over the ULM Warhawks at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
The 28 points is the largest margin of victory the Cajuns have ever had against ULM and their eighth straight win against ULM improves their record 11-11 (6-4 SBC). As for ULM they've dropped their seventh straight game of the season and their record drops to 4-17 (1-9 SBC).
Senior Simone Fields finished with 12 points on 6 for 9 shooting and sophomore Kimberly Burton just missed a double-double finishing with a team high nine rebounds and she added nine points to the mix.
HOW IT HAPPENED (First Quarter): The Cajuns great shooting in the first half, began right away with Louisiana coming out of the gate going 3 for 4 from beyond the arc in the first five minutes of the quarter. That was all kicked off by Thomas who hit a three-point basket in the Cajuns first possession of the game.
ULM cut into the Cajuns lead when at 4:41 they were shooting 63 percent in the quarter and the Warhawks took a one-point lead in the game with the score sitting at 12-11. Both teams traded leads, and a three-pointer from ULM put them up by two points at the 2:38 mark in the quarter. Neither team would score over the final stretch of the quarter and with that basket from ULM at 2:38, they took a two-point lead into the second period with the score sitting at 15-13.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Second Quarter): Again, the teams traded leads in the first minute of the period, and ULM took the lead for the final time in the game at the nine-minute mark. From there the Cajuns took control of the half and they jumped on ULM with a 8-0 run over the next five minutes to put them up by six points.
ULM fought back, and they cut the score the too 25-23 with the clock sitting at 3:48. But again Louisiana took off running again, Freshman Skyler Goodwin, taking things into her own hands, sparked the Cajuns strong finish to the half as she went off on her own personal 5-0 run to push the Cajuns lead to 30-23. A quick response from ULM was shut down by back-to-back three-point baskets from senior Troi Swain and the Cajuns were riding high heading into the half as they had a eight point lead heading into the break with the score sitting at 36-28.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Third Quarter): Swain came out and picked up right where she left off with a three-point basket to put the Cajuns up by 11. Through the period the Cajuns kept attempting to pull away from ULM, but the Warhawks pushed back never letting Louisiana get more then 12 points ahead through the majority of the period. Burton came alive in the quarter, scoring seven points on 3 for 3 shooting and she grabbed three boards throughout the period. The Cajuns pushed their advantage to 13 points down the stretch, as a basket from Burton and Ty'Reonne Doucet pushed the score to 56-43 as the game went into the final period.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Fourth Quarter): It was in the final 10 minutes where the Cajuns asserted their dominance over ULM as they outscored the Warhawks 20-5 in the period. Fields dominated the first four minutes of the quarter. In fact, she went on her own personal 8-2 run to push the Cajuns lead to 17 points with the score sitting at 62-45.
Louisiana wasn't finished as they saw the gap extend they began to lock things down defensively as well, ULM's basket at 7:17 would be the last shot from the field that the Warhawks would make through the remainder of the game. ULM only shot 2 for 15 from the field in the quarter while the Cajuns shot 57 percent. A 14-1 run by Louisiana to finish the game, wrapped up nicely by a three-point basket from redshirt-freshman Danyale Bayonne with 35 seconds left in the game, put the final score of the game at 76-48 in what was the biggest margin of victory against ULM the Cajuns have ever had.
NOTEWORTHY: The seven assists for Thomas ties a career high; The 17 assists in the game ties the most the Cajuns have had in a game, getting 17 against Arkansas State on Dec. 31, 2017. The 28 points is the largest margin of victory the Cajuns have ever had against a Sun Belt Conference opponent, surpassing the 27-point margin of victory they had against Georgia Southern on Feb. 28, 2015 (62-35).
UP NEXT FOR THE CAJUNS: Louisiana continues their three-game road stretch with a trip east to the state of Georgia. On Thursday, Feb. 8 the Cajuns will visit Atlanta, to take on the Georgia State Panthers and that game will be the second straight game on ESPN3 for the Cajuns.
They'll wrap up the Georgia swing with a visit to Statesboro, when they play the Georgia Southern Eagles on Saturday, Feb. 10. Louisiana then returns to the Cajundome the following weekend when they host the Texas schools. First, they'll face off with Texas State on Thursday, Feb. 15 and they finish the weekend hosting UT-Arlington on Saturday, Feb. 17.
FOLLOWING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS: Follow the Cajuns on twitter @RaginCajunsWBB for updates during the games, and links to live stats, live streams and recaps following the games.
Troy Defeats South Alabama in Front of Record Crowd
TROY, Alabama – In front of a record crowd of 2,176 fans, the Troy women's basketball team used an 18-0 fourth quarter run to knock off South Alabama, 82-71, in Trojan Arena on Saturday.
Troy (11-10, 6-4 Sun Belt) outscored USA 19-1 over a span of 6:21 in the final quarter and held the Jaguars (15-6, 8-2) without a field goal for 8:23 to pull out the victory over the league's No. 2 team. The Trojans have now won four straight games and are 7-1 at home.
Reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week Kayla Robinson was again the star of the show turning in a career-high 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting and 11 rebounds to post her third double-double in the last four games. Robinson hauled in seven offensive boards serving as a catalyst to Troy's 21 second-chance points, she also had six assists in the game.
The Trojans got off to a miserable start making just three of 20 field goal attempts in the first quarter and trailed by as many as 13 midway through the half. Jasmine Robinson jump started the offense with nine points in the third period, but the Jaguars would not go quietly opening a 10-point advantage with a 17-7 run that stretched into the fourth when Troy took control of the game.
South Alabama was 0-for-13 from the field during the Trojans' game-changing run and Troy shot 58 percent (22-38) in the second half while USA was just 12 of 34 (35 percent).
Amber Rivers was a rebound shy of her fifth double-double of the season finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds. Senior Dajia Williams added nine points and four boards.
QUOTABLE
"It was a great win in Trojan Arena in front of a record crowd," Troy head coach Chanda Rigby said. "I thought it was a win that reflected the true Trojan spirit – it's not how you start, it's how you finish."
UP NEXT
Troy will play the middle game of its current three-game homestand on Thursday as Arkansas State visits Trojan Arena for a 5 p.m. tip.
Bobcats Topple the Mountaineers, 92-50
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State women's basketball team (16-7, 9-3 SBC) took care of business, dominating Appalachian State (6-17, 4-8 SBC), 92-50, inside Strahan Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. The Bobcats earned the season sweep of the Mountaineers after winning game one by a score of 69-54 on Dec. 29, 2017 to open Sun Belt Conference play. The victory gives TXST a season-best four-game winning streak.
Both coaching staffs and the Texas State support staff wore pink ribbons during the game as part of the Play4Kay game. Play4Kay is the largest fundraising initiative of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Colleges and universities raise money by fans/supporters pledging a certain amount of money for each free-throw made in a game. The money raised goes toward extending and improving the lives of those battling cancer. For more information on the Kay Yow Cancer fund, please visit this link: https://kayyow.com/.
"I am most proud of this team on the defensive end," head coach Zenarae Antoine said. "We held them to just four points in the second quarter and that was huge for us. After that, we continued to add the pressure defensively, even with some substitutions."
The Bobcats stifled the Mountaineers on the defensive side of the floor all afternoon, limiting Appalachian State to just 17-of-61 (27.9 percent) from the floor. The percentage is well below App's season average of 38.5 percent and is the lowest shooting output for the Mountaineers in SBC play this season. In the second quarter, the Mountaineers scored just four points while failing to make a single field goal in 16 attempts.
Through the first three quarters of action, Appalachian State connected on just 10-of-47 (21.3 percent) shot attempts and managed to shoot 1-of-16 (6.3 percent) from behind the 3-point line. The mass volume of misses allowed the Bobcats to win the rebounding margin for the ninth time this season. Texas State is 9-0 in those games.
Four of the five Bobcats reached double-figures in the game. Toshua Leavitt led the way for the Bobcats for the third straight game. After a slow start, the junior began to heat up in the second half, scoring 16 of her game-high 19 points in the last 20 minutes of the contest. Leavitt canned five more 3-pointers, bringing her to 111 made triples on the season. She now stands just four shy of tying the single-season Sun Belt Conference record and 19 short of breaking the NCAA record for made 3-pointers.
Taeler Deer had another phenomenal outing, scoring 16 points and handing out eight helpers. The Houston native has now dished out eight or more assists in 10 games this season. For the season, Deer has assisted on 149 Bobcat buckets, which stands at seventh on the all-time Texas State leaderboard and is just 12 shy of tying Shelly Borton's record of 161 assists during the 1989-90 campaign.
Ericka May recorded her fourth double-double of the season before the first half ended. May scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 19 minutes of action in the first half. The senior forward also chipped in a pair of blocks and one steal. She finished the game with a game-high 11 boards.
During the four-game win streak, Ti'Aira Pitts has emerged as a serious offensive threat. The senior forward has scored at least 13 points in all four contests and has averaged 14.3 points per game over the last two weeks. For the second straight game she helped the Bobcats get off to a quick start, scoring nine points in the first frame. She scored 15 points in 22 minutes of action.
Texas State dominated in nearly every statistical category. The Bobcats outscored the Mountaineers 34-22 in the paint and 11-0 in transition. TXST scored 22 points off of App's 10 turnovers compared to yielding just eight points on eight turnovers. Texas State owned the edge in second chance points, 16-7 despite only grabbing nine offensive rebounds. The Bobcats made 21-of-23 (91.3 percent) free throw attempts while the Mountaineers converted just 14-of-22 (63.6 percent).
The Bobcats will get a rare Thursday night off, giving the team plenty of time to prepare for in-state nemesis UTA. Texas State will make the short trip up to Arlington for a Saturday showdown against the Mavericks. The game is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. tip on Feb. 10 and will be aired live on WatchESPN/ESPN3.
Martin Scores Career-High in Victory Over Eagles
JONESBORO, Ark. (2/1/18) – Led by a career-high 17 points from freshman Peyton Martin, the Arkansas State women’s basketball team defeated Georgia Southern 69-48 in a Sun Belt Conference matchup Saturday afternoon at First National Bank Arena.
Martin scored 11 points in the second half as the Red Wolves (12-10, 7-4 Sun Belt) increased their lead to complete the season sweep of the Eagles. The freshman from Pine Bluff, Ark., went 7-of-8 from the free throw line and grabbed five rebounds on the way to her best game of the season. She gave A-State a much needed spark late in the third quarter and it carried into the final period as A-State outscored Georgia Southern by nine points over the final 10 minutes.
Jada Ford also finished in double-figures with 11 points, including three, 3-pointers, while Akasha Westbrook just missed out on a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. Lauren Bradshaw also turned in a solid afternoon with eight points and seven rebounds.
The Red Wolves held Georgia Southern (4-18, 1-10) to just 27.6 percent (16-of-58) on the night, but the Eagles made seven, 3-pointers on the day. A-State shot 44.6 percent (25-of-56) from the field and got a huge effort from its bench, which outscored its opposition 36-7.
How It Happened (First Half):
Arkansas State shot a blistering 53.6 percent from the field in the first half, including 6-of-12 from beyond the arc to build a 36-24 lead at halftime. Ford knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the half, while Bradshaw worked in the paint for six points.
The Eagles opened the game with a 3-pointer, but A-State responded with a jumper from Bradshaw and a 3-pointer from Lycia Peevy to take a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the afternoon. Another 3-pointer from Ford pushed the advantage to 17-8 with 2:24 to go in the period, while Maggie Mahan gave A-State its double-digit lead of the day with a 3-pointer early in the second quarter.
A-State held Georgia Southern to just 23.1 percent shooting in the first half and outworked the Eagles 21-14 on the boards.
How It Happened (Second Half):
A-State opened the second half with a pair of free throws by Peevy and layup by Starr Taylor to push their lead to 16-points, but Georgia Southern worked the advantage down to 43-34 with 3:46 to go in the period after a 7-0 run.
Martin hit a jumper in the paint to end the run and push the lead back to double-digits to help spark the offense it caught fire at the end of the third and into the fourth quarter. Ford drained a 3-pointer from the corner to go up by 15 at 55-40 and Payton Tennison delivered back-to-back 3-pointers with under three minutes to go to help seal the victory.
Notables:
Peyton Martin finished with a career-high 17 points and was one rebound away from tying her career-high of six rebounds.
Akasha Westbrook failed to score in double-figures for the first time for the first since Dec. 2 at Ole Miss (she had scored in 14 straight games)
A-State is now 8-1 on the season when its bench outscores the opponent’s bench by more than 10 points.
Arkansas State won back-to-back games for the just the second time this season.
Trojans Tally 11th Consecutive Victory With 54-47 Win
LITTLE ROCK – The winning streak increased to 11 games for Little Rock women's basketball as it defeated Georgia State 54-47 on Saturday afternoon at the Jack Stephens Center.
The win increased Little Rock's conference winning streak to 16 games dating back to last season. Since 2015-16, the Trojans (14-8, 11-0 Sun Belt) have now won 25 consecutive Sun Belt games at the Jack and are 44-1 against conference foes at home since 2013-14. The victory marked the Trojans' 10th win in the Jack this season — extending the streak to 12 consecutive seasons with 10-plus wins at home.
Ronjanae DeGray led the Trojans with 16 points as she also came away with eight rebounds in 32 minutes. Keanna Keys finished with 12 points and eight rebounds in 35 minutes. Tori Lasker was the third Trojan in double figures as finished with 11 points and a game-high six assists. Little Rock ended the game shooting 40 percent (22-for-55) from the field and 64.3 percent (9-for-14) from the foul line.
The Panthers (5-17, 1-10 Sun Belt) had two players in double figures. Madison Newby had a team-high 16 points in addition to two steals and two rebounds. Kierra Henry had 14 points with two rebounds. Janessa Murphy had a team-high six rebounds. Georgia State finished the game shooting 32 percent (16-for-50) from the field and 82.4 percent (14-for-17) from the charity stripe.
A tight fourth quarter went Little Rock's way as it had a 14-13 advantage in the period. The Trojans took their largest lead of the game at nine points with 4:02 left to play. Despite the Trojans leading the quarter in points, the Panthers had the hotter hand at 40 percent (4-for-10) compared to Little Rock's 35.7 (5-for-14). Keys led the quarter with six points while Raeyana DeGray came down with four of her seven rebounds for the game.
Little Rock had the slight edge in the third quarter as it outscored Georgia State 18-16. With Little Rock up 28-20, Georgia State went on an 8-0 run to tie the game. With 5:25 remaining in the quarter, the Trojans went on a 12-6 run. The Trojans ended the period with a 40-34 lead after shooting 58.3 percent (7-for-12). The Panthers struggled to find their shot as they went 5-for-18 (27.8%) in the quarter. Ronjanae DeGray and Lasker each tallied seven points during the quarter.
The Trojans had a 14-8 advantage in the second quarter and went to the locker room with a 22-18 lead. Little Rock shot slightly better than the first quarter at 35.3 percent (6-for-17) while Georgia State shot 33.3 percent (4-for-12). The Trojans tallied three runs of four points each in the period.
Although Little Rock held Georgia State to 30 percent (3-for-10) in the first quarter, the Trojans allowed the Panthers to go 3-for-4 from the foul line. That allowed Georgia State to end the quarter with a 10-8 lead. Yanina Inkina led Little Rock with four points as the Trojans went 4-for-12 (33.3%). Little Rock committed four turnovers for the quarter and allowed Georgia State to score eight points off turnovers.
Inkina finished the game with six points and a game-high three steals. Terrion Moore put up five points with four rebounds and three assists. Monique Townson played all 40 minutes and finished with six rebounds and five assists.
For the first time since the 2015-16 season, Little Rock tallied 40-plus rebounds in back-to-back games as it finished with 42. The Trojans ended up with 16 assists — their 11th consecutive game with at least 10.
With an 11-game winning streak in tow, the Trojans will now head to South Alabama to face the second-place Jaguars on Thursday at 11 a.m. in Mobile.