Trojans Defeat Jaguars 47-35 for 12th Consecutive Win
MOBILE, Ala. – The winning streak continued for Little Rock women's basketball as it earned its 12th consecutive win with a 47-35 victory over second-place South Alabama (15-7, 8-3 Sun Belt) on Thursday at the Mitchell Center.

With the victory, Little Rock (15-8, 12-0 Sun Belt) has won 17 consecutive Sun Belt games dating back to last season, and it was the Trojans' seventh consecutive victory against the Jaguars (15-7, 8-3 Sun Belt).

Yanina Inkina led Little Rock with a career-high 15 points in only 16 minutes of play after scoring the Trojans' first 11 points of the game. Ronjanae DeGray was the Trojans' other player in double figures as she ended the game with 11 points and four rebounds. Tori Lasker had a game-high four assists with five rebounds and three points. Little Rock ended the game shooting 38.8 percent (19-for-49).

Chyna Ellis led South Alabama with 14 points and eight rebounds. The Trojans' didn't allow Ellis, the league-leader in blocked shots per game (7.2), to tally a single one for the game. Antoinette Lewis had 10 points to go along with six rebounds. The Trojans held the Jags to just 24.1 percent (13-for-54) from the floor and 15.8 percent (3-for-19) from three.

A 9-0 run set the momentum for Little Rock in the fourth quarter as the Trojans held South Alabama scoreless until there was 3:08 left in the game. From there, the Jags went on an 8-0 run, but it was too little, too late as the Trojans came away with a 12-point win. Both sides were 3-for-13 (23.1%) in the final 10 minutes of the game. Little Rock took its largest lead of the game at 20 points as Inkina put up a basket for her 15th point.

The Trojans began the third quarter on a 12-1 run, but the Jags went on a 10-2 run of their own to make up some ground. Little Rock ended the period with an 11-point lead after outscoring South Alabama 14-11. The Trojans shot 41.7 percent (5-for-12) in the quarter while the Jags went 3-for-10. DeGray led the period with six points after going 3-for-5 from the field.

Although Little Rock had the better field-goal percentage in the second quarter at 40 percent (4-for-10), South Alabama made more shots while going 5-for-14 (35.7%) with one three-pointer and a free throw. The Jags outscored the Trojans 12-8 to cut Little Rock's lead to single digits at 24-16.

The first quarter couldn't have gone much better for Little Rock as the Trojans began the game with a 16-4 lead. Inkina was the star of the quarter as she scored Little Rock's first 11 points and went 5-for-5 from the field with one three-pointer. The Trojans started off by going 7-for-14 from the field while holding the Jaguars to 11.8 percent (2-for-17). Little Rock had a 15-7 advantage in rebounds for the quarter.

Keanna Keys ended the game with eight points, six rebounds and two steals while Terrion Moore finished with seven points, six rebounds and two steals. Monique Townson tallied six rebounds with two points, and Raeyana DeGray came up with three rebounds.

South Alabama's 35 points were the second-fewest scored by a Little Rock opponent this season.

Little Rock will conclude its trip through Alabama by visiting Troy on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN3/WatchESPN.

GS Women's Basketball Notches Largest Sun Belt Win, Downs ULM 75-45
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern women's basketball team never trailed in picking up its largest win in the Sun Belt Conference era with Thursday night's 75-45 victory over visiting UL Monroe at Hanner Fieldhouse.

The Eagles (5-18, 2-10 SBC) also notched their second straight win at Hanner with the win, while the Warhawks (4-18, 1-10 SBC) dropped their eighth straight contest. Georgia Southern will try to make it three in a row at home in Sun Belt play when the Eagles host Louisiana on Saturday at 2 p.m. for Pack The House Pink day.

Alexis Foulks' layup on the first possession of the game gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead that it would not relinquish. Georgia Southern took an 18-12 lead at the end of the first quarter, then opened up the second quarter on an 8-2 run to take its largest lead of the first half, 26-14, on two free throws from Alexis Brown with 6:35 left. The Eagles would take a 36-27 lead into halftime as nine different Georgia Southern players had at least one basket in the first half.

The Eagles came out of halftime on an 14-0 run, getting a pair of three-pointers from Foulks, one from Alexis Brown and a three-point play from Hailey Dias-Allen to take a 50-27 lead with 5:51 to go in the third quarter. Georgia Southern would hold the Warhawks to just six third-quarter points and come away with the 30-point win. The win eclipses the previous biggest win in Sun Belt play for the Eagles, 21 points, set on Jan. 12 of last season in a 65-44 win at UL Monroe.

"This was a great team effort, I'm really proud," Georgia Southern Head Coach Kip Drown said. "Our biggest key tonight was to play hard, play harder than they do, come out from the start and set a tone and I think we did that from the beginning. I was really happy about that. This was another one of those confidence games that helps you grow up."

Alexis Brown finished the night with a season-high 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor, including 2-of-4 from three-point range and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line to lead the Eagles offensively.

"She just had a hard fall with some injuries and some different things, but she is really starting to hit her stride now," Coach Drown said. "She's a really good player, who just plays hard. And you can tell she's getting back to the form that we saw glimpses of last year."

Foulks finished with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor for the Eagles, including 2-of-5 three-pointers, while Rhein Beamon added 10 points off the bench on 5-of-7 shooting. UL Monroe was led by 10 points from Gabriella Cortez.

The Eagles shot 45.2 percent from the floor (28-of-62) and 28.6 percent from three-point range (6-of-21) while going a perfect 13-of-13 from the night at the free throw line - the second time this year that Georgia Southern has had a perfect game at the line. The Eagles went 6-for-6 from the line at UCF on Dec. 10, 2017.

UL Monroe shot just 33.9 percent from the floor (19-of-56) and just 12 percent from three-point range (3-of-25), while making 4-of-8 free throws for 50 percent. Georgia Southern enjoyed a 16-9 edge in points off of turnovers as the Eagles force 18 turnovers from the Warhawks.

Troy Dispatches Arkansas State, 95-78
TROY, Alabama – Troy jumped out front early and never looked back in a 95-78 victory over Arkansas State on Thursday in Trojan Arena.

The Trojans (12-10, 7-4) claimed their fifth consecutive victory on hot shooting from beyond the arc. Led by Harriet Winchester's four treys, Troy finished 10-for-18 from 3-point range, its most since hitting 12 against Georgia State on Dec. 31.

Back-to-back Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week Kayla Robinson was again solid leading all scorers with 18 points. She has score in double digits in seven straight games.

Troy led throughout after starting the game on a 10-0 run. Arkansas State (12-11, 7-5) turned the ball over six times in the first six minutes of play and nine times in the first quarter leading to 11 Trojan fast break points. The Red Wolves were forced into 31 turnovers in the game, the 13th time Troy has forced an opponent into 20-plus turnovers.

For the second time this season, six Trojans scored in double figures. Winchester finished with 16 and Janiah Sandifer was 5-of-6 from the field to add 14 points. Freshman Jasmine Robinson had 13 while Amber Rivers and Jasmine Sanders turned in 11 points each.

Troy never trailed in the game and led by as many as 25 with 6:59 to play in the game. The Trojans have beaten the Red Wolves by 10 or more points the last three times the teams have met. Troy turned in its highest field goal percentage of the season shooting 53.7 percent (36-67) while Arkansas State converted at a 42.4 percent clip (28-66).

QUOTABLE
"The main thing that I'm proud of is the pressure defense," Troy head coach Chanda Rigby said. "This week we've been stressing more pressure on the ball and more people in the passing lane and we dialed the right number tonight."

UP NEXT
Troy faces league leading Little Rock at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Trojan Arena. Little Rock defeated South Alabama 47-35 on Thursday and enter the contest 12-0 in league play.

Fields, Thomas Power Cajuns To 15 Point Win Over GSU
ATLANTA – 22 points and six rebounds from senior Simone Fields along with another packed stat sheet from sophomore Jasmine Thomas gave the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team their second straight Sun Belt Conference win on the road as they beat the Georgia State Panthers, 75-60 at the GSU Sports Arena.

Thomas finished with 15 points, a career high nine assists and she added four rebounds as the Cajuns improved to 12-11 (7-4 SBC). As for Georgia State they lost their fifth straight game and their record drops to 5-18 (1-11 SBC).

Freshman Ty'Reonne Doucet had great stretches throughout the game, and she finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Freshman Skyler Goodwin added 12 points and three assists to the mix. As a team the Cajuns finished with a season high 18 assists and for the second straight game they shot at least 50 percent from the field.

HOW IT HAPPENED (First Quarter): Georgia State quickly came out and scored the first five points of the game, but the Cajuns answered back with a quick 7-2 run, powered by a three-point basket from Thomas and with that the Cajuns were off and running. Things went back-and-forth through the quarter, but the Cajuns were helped out by a period from Fields.

The Cajuns senior had herself a quarter putting in six points, all coming in a solid minute long stretch starting at 3:00 minutes and carrying on until the second minute mark of the quarter. A Georgia State jumper at the one-minute mark tied things up at 17-17. But Goodwin hit a jump shot with under three seconds left in the quarter. And with that basket from Goodwin the Cajuns took a two-point lead into the second quarter with the score sitting at 17-15.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Second Quarter): Louisiana began the quarter going 6 for 8 from the field as they began to pour it on the Panthers. The run was kicked off by back-to-back baskets from Doucet, and she got that second basket off of a steal that she created.

Fields again was big in the quarter, as she took over right after Doucet started it off. Fields hit three straight baskets, going on her own 6-3 run to push the score to 27-20 in favor of the Cajuns. It was there that Louisiana put the distance they would need for the remainder of the game between themselves and Georgia State. Starting with senior Nekia Jones' three pointer at 6:30, the Cajuns went on a tear from beyond the arc. They nailed five straight threes, with Jones hitting the first two, Goodwin hitting two after that and Thomas finishing off the run with a three-point basket of her own.

When that run was finished, the Cajuns held an 18-point lead over the Panthers, and it gave them the most points they've scored in the first half all season long. Georgia State would hit one more basket before the break, but the Cajuns led the Panthers, 46-30 heading into the half.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Third Quarter): Georgia State came out of the locker room looking to cut into the Cajuns lead. But through the first few minutes the Cajuns pushed their lead to 16 points, with a basket from Thomas and Fields. When the clock hit 6:31 Georgia State began their assault on the Cajuns lead, it started with two free throws and was fueled by back-to-back three-point baskets to drop Louisiana's lead below double digits for the first time since the first five minutes of the second quarter.

But Louisiana answered the Panthers charge with their defense fueling their offense as they caused six straight Georgia State turnovers that lead to a 6-0 run for the Cajuns, with Fields scoring four of the six points as they pushed their lead back over 10 points. Both teams traded baskets down the stretch, with Louisiana keeping their double-digit lead and they finished the quarter leading the Panthers 58-47 having caused eight Panthers turnovers in the period.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Fourth Quarter): Louisiana came out and pushed their lead to 13 points thanks to a basket from Doucet, but again Georgia State pushed the envelope. They answered each basket by the Cajuns, and two free throws at the 4:47 mark cut the Cajuns lead to 10 points with the score sitting at 64-54. Doucet, sensing the Cajuns needed a boost, kicked off a game clinching 7-0 run. She nailed back-to-back baskets over a 40 second stretch and Thomas added a layup and a free throw as Louisiana again extended their lead past 15 points.

As the final two minutes ticked down, two free throws from Thomas and a basket from Fields meant that the Cajuns held a 18 point lead with just over a minute to go in the game. A three-pointer from Georgia State under 30 seconds put Louisiana's lead at 15 points. But that basket was too little, too late and the final whistle blew on the Cajuns 75-60 win.

NOTEWORTHY: Thomas had seven of her nine assists in the first half; Thomas is the first Louisiana player to finish with over eight assists in a game since Jaylyn Gordon had nine assists vs. Troy on Feb. 11, 2017; Fields passed Alyson Habetz to move into ninth on the All-Time Cajuns Scoring list and she now has 1,198 career points.

It's the second time this season the Cajuns have had at least four players finish in double-digit scoring; Louisiana has now recorded 35 assists over the past two games; The Cajuns now have 28 assists over the past two games; It's the second straight game and third conference game of the season, that the Cajuns have scored at least 75 points.

UP NEXT FOR THE CAJUNS: The Cajuns continue their Georgia swing with a visit to Statesboro, Ga., on Saturday, Feb. 10, take on the Georgia Southern Eagles with that tip scheduled for 1 p.m. CST.

FOLLOWING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS: Follow the Cajuns on twitter @RaginCajunsWBB for updates during the game, links to live stats, streams and the recap following the game.