NEW ORLEANS - Ronjanae DeGray scored 22 points and top-seeded Little Rock held off fourth-seeded Troy with a 66-63 victory on Saturday in a Sun Belt tournament semifinal.
Little Rock (22-9) advances to its eighth championship game appearance since 2009 and first since 2016. The Trojans will face the winner of the second semifinal between second-seeded Texas State and sixth-seeded Louisiana.
Degray was 9-of-14 from the floor along with six rebounds. DeGray's sister, Raeyana, tallied 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting and also pulled down six rebounds. Monique Townson added 11 points, four of which came in the last 30 seconds on free throw attempts, for the Trojans.
Kayla Robinson finished with 14 points, all in the second half, and Amber Rivers scored 11 for Troy (17-14).
Troy Notes
• Today was Troy’s first loss (8-1) when Kayla Robinson led the team in scoring since taking over as the team’s starting point guard on January 20th.
• Troy attempted 20 or more shots than their opponent for the ninth time this season. They are 4-6 across that span.
• Kayla Robinson scored in double digits for fourteen of the final fifteen games of the season during which they only lost four games.
• Troy ended the season 12-10 in games which they had won the turnover battle.
Little Rock Notes
• Little Rock is undefeated (11-0) against Sun Belt opponents when the DeGray sisters combine for 17 or more points. Today, they combined for a season-high 35.
• Little Rock significantly outscored Troy’s bench 36-16.
• Little Rock snapped seven game win streak for Troy in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
• Ronjanae DeGray hit her first three pointer of the season with 45 seconds left in the third quarter.
• Little Rock is advancing to the Sun Belt Tournament title game for the eighth time since 2009.
Little Rock Quotes
Head Coach Joe Foley
Opening Statement:
“What a ball game. I thought both teams played extremely hard. Both teams went to the glass extremely hard. We worked extremely hard on defense. Both teams out there have got some great players and it was a great ball game all the way through. Both teams hit some big shots.”
On key to defending Troy:
“I didn’t think they ever got started. They’re a good jump shooting team pulling up at the free throw line and shooting threes. They never did get those. They got offensive rebounds and stuck it back in, but they never really did get on the run of hitting threes and pull up jump shots and I think that was the key to our defense.”
On missed free throws by Raeyana DeGray at the end of the game with only a three point lead:
“I felt bad for (Raeyana). (Raeyana) struggles at the free throw line and she played such a good ball game. She came off the bench and played an excellent ball game. She’s thinking, ‘I played terrible’. I told her, ‘you played a heck of a ball game, girl. Don’t worry about missing free throws’. We made plays when we had to and she made some big plays in that game. We wouldn’t have been in that situation if it hadn’t been for the way she played.”
JR – F – Ronjanae DeGray
Opening Statement:
“Before I answer your questions I feel like I have to give all praises to God for getting us this far and for blessing me with Coach Foley. He’s a tough coach, a very disciplinary coach, and I look forward to another year with him. It’s not over yet, but I first want to give praises to God for getting us here.”
On going back to the Sunbelt championship for the first time since freshman year:
“Freshman year I sat on the bench so now this year I’m looking forward to playing the game and helping my team out and just getting the (win) for Little Rock and for the program. All the hard work that we’ve been doing will pay off.”
On mindset having only a three point lead and ten seconds remaining:
“Remaining poised, remaining in control and just not getting excited. I felt like all of our players that haven’t necessarily touched the floor in this arena and in this setting did an extremely well job of staying in control and not panicking. I’m proud of my team.”
Troy Quotes
Head Coach Chanda Rigby
Opening Statement:
“I would like to thank the Sun Belt Conference and for getting to be a part of such a great tournament. I really wanted to start off by saying that, we don’t say it often enough. We are very fortunate to have the leadership that we do in this conference. It goes without saying, I think that we are the hardest fighters in the tournament. We didn’t win today but we kind of did because we lost to a great team, the No. 1 team in the conference. They are No.1 for a reason. As far as this game, I thought that we got off to a slow start but it’s because the other team is really good. They got off to a good start. I was most disappointed at half time at the rebounding situation. We were able to weather South Alabama because we rebounded so well. We got off to a slow start rebounding. In the end we turned around and did our rebounding. That is a great accomplishment because they have some really strong post players that held us off of the board. It was just a game of wills and unfortunately our will left us three points shy when the clock ran out. I wish the team that beat us the best of luck. They are a great team, well coached and have good seniors on their team. ”
Robinson’s shot at the end – what was the plan?
“We had to have a three, so we had several three-point shooters on the floor. She was our first option, but the way the play broke down, she didn’t get the first look. She was supposed to do a handoff and get it to Amber (Rivers) coming off a double screen. It got bobbled on the handoff so she just turned around and shot it. Not going to say it was a good shot, but it was a Hail Mary and she made it. That is what happens to people sometimes when you are fighting hard – things go your way, and in that situation it did.”
It seemed like they were fighting through your screens pretty well. Was that a difference-maker?
“Definitely. When we set good on-ball screens, not only do they hedge real well with their post players, but they poke at the ball, which causes you to mishandle it. What we are best as is coming off the screen and going straight to the goal, and they do not allow it. That had an effect.”
It was 47-45 with about 1:45 left in the third, from that point until about 8 minutes in the fourth, they went on a 9-0 run. Was that a key point?
“A lot of that was not on the kids, it was on me. I was scrambling trying to find a defense. We do not play zone, but we put one in just for this game and when we got in foul trouble we went to it and actually slowed them up toward the end of the first half. But 00 just kept hitting the shot from the corner.”
You got steals out of that zone too, was that designed?
“I looked down and saw Joe, and of course he recognized it and was trying to tell his team to get the ball to the opposite side, which is how you break a 1-3-1. I didn’t see them run a play against the 1-3-1 all year, and that’s why we put that in. It slowed them up some, but Ronjanae (DeGray) just finding the corner shot and that’s the weakness in a 1-3-1 defense. She found it quick, and that’s good basketball.”