Little Rock Holds Louisiana Scoreless in Overtime
LAFAYETTE, La. — It took an overtime period to settle things, but Little Rock women's basketball held on to defeat Louisiana 72-63 in the regular-season finale on Saturday evening at the Cajundome.
The win moved Little Rock to 20-9 for the season and 17-1 in Sun Belt play. The Trojans now have four consecutive 20-win seasons and 11 in program history. For head coach Joe Foley, he now has 27 20-win seasons in 31 seasons as a head coach.
Ronjanae DeGray had a monster game for the Trojans as she tallied a double-double with 23 points, a career-high 13 rebounds, a season-high four steals and three blocks. Monique Townson tied her season high with 18 points and eight rebounds while also tallying three assists and two steals. Townson passed former Trojan Asriel Rolfe for the sixth-most steals in program history as she ended the night with 155 for her career. Tori Lasker finished with 12 points, three assists and two rebounds. Little Rock ended the game shooting 50.8 percent (30-for-59) from the field, 27.3 percent (3-for-11) from three and 90 percent (9-for-10) from the charity stripe.
Troi Swain led the Ragin' Cajuns (15-15, 10-8 Sun Belt) with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists. Kendra Howard was the other Louisiana player in double figures as she ended up with 13 points, four rebounds and a team-high three steals. Overall, the Cajuns shot 42.6 percent (26-for-61) from the field, 16.7 percent (2-for-12) from three and 64.3 percent (9-for-14 from the foul line.
Tied at 63 entering overtime, Little Rock's defense stepped up by holding Louisiana scoreless in the extra five minutes of play. The Trojans went 9-0 in the period as DeGray scored five points. Little Rock went to work on the boards with a 9-2 advantage in overtime as Townson came down with five. Louisiana missed all eight of their field-goal attempts for the period.
The Trojans outscored the Cajuns 15-11 in the fourth quarter as Townson led the way with seven points. Little Rock shot a game-high 63.6 percent (7-for-11) in the period while holding Louisiana to 35.7 (5-for-14). The Trojans scored six of their 15 points off Cajun turnovers as Louisiana tallied six in the quarter.
After two periods of being outscored, it was finally Little Rock's turn in the third quarter as it held a slight 13-12 advantage. The Trojans were 6-for-11 (54.5%) from the field as DeGray led the team with six points and four rebounds. The Cajuns went 5-for-12 (41.7%) behind Swain's team-leading six points.
The first half ended on a 6-0 run by Louisiana as it went to the locker room with a 40-35 lead. The Cajuns shot 57.1 percent (8-for-14) in the quarter while the Trojans shot 53.8 percent (7-for-13). Townson had nine points in the first half to lead the Trojans while DeGray and Terrion Moore each had four rebounds.
It was a rough first quarter for the Trojans as the Cajuns had the 19-16 advantage in scoring. Of Louisiana's 19 points, 16 came in the paint. Louisiana shot 61.5 percent (8-for-13) while Little Rock was 38.9 percent (7-for-18) from the field. Lasker had six points for the Trojans on two three-point shots. Little Rock had the advantage in rebounds at 10-8 and assists at 4-2.
Keanna Keys finished the game with nine points and four rebounds while Yanina Inkina tallied eight points and three rebounds. Moore ended up with four rebounds, four assists and two points. Kyra Collier had two rebounds, an assist and a steal, and Raeyana DeGray had one rebound.
Helping Louisiana stay in the game was its 42 points in the paint — the second-most by a Little Rock opponent this season.
Little Rock held the advantage in rebounds (39-29), assists (13-7) and blocked shots (4-2) while Louisiana tallied more steals (10-8).
With the regular season now complete, Little Rock will turn its focus to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament as it enters play as the No. 1 seed. The Trojans will face the winner of No. 8 Arkansas State and No. 9 Appalachian State on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans.
Deer Scores 28 in TXST's Rout of UTA, 75-58
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State women's basketball team (21-8, 14-4 SBC) avenged a tough overtime loss earlier in the season to UTA (18-11, 12-6 SBC), 75-58, on Senior Day inside Strahan Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
The victory gives Texas State 21 wins this season, matching the most victories of the Division I era in program history. The 2007-08 team, coached by Suzanne Fox, went 21-11, won the Southland Conference and advanced to the WNIT. The Bobcats also secured the second seed and a first round bye in next week's 2018 Sun Belt Conference Championship.
"We were ready to play this game right after the loss in Arlington," head coach Zenarae Antoine said. "There are many layers of this game that I am very excited about. I think we executed the game plan very well. This game allowed our fans to see that this team is a true contender. Tonight was really about the team doing a great job of executing."
Senior guard Taeler Deer led the way for the Bobcats, scoring a game-high 28 points. Deer connected on 11-of-21 shot attempts and made 5-of-7 free throws. She also dished out five assists, grabbed four rebounds, and collected four steals. Deer is averaging 18.6 points, 6.6 assists and 4.3 rebounds per contest in conference play.
Toshua Leavitt found her rhythm from the 3-point line, burying 6-of-9 attempts from deep. She ended the game with 20 points, her 11th 20-point outing of the season. The junior has made six or more 3-point attempts in all 11 games. Leavitt added a pair of assists and rebounds. After falling behind UT Martin's Kendall Spray for the NCAA lead in made 3-pointers this week, Leavitt has regained the lead. Spray has made 121 triples this season, though the Skyhawks have already completed their conference tournament.
Senior forward Ericka May chipped in 11 points and three steals to add a third Bobcat in double-figures.
For UTA, Crystal Allen led the charge, scoring a team-high 25 points. She made 8-of-13 shots from the floor including a trio of 3-point attempts. Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year Rebekah VanDijk was held in check for most of the game, scoring just 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting. The senior center grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots.
The Bobcats committed a season-low five turnovers in the game while forcing the Mavericks into 20 turnovers. Texas State cashed in those 20 turnovers into 25 points, outscoring UTA 25-0 in points off of turnovers. Texas State entered the game with the best turnover margin in the Sun Belt, forcing 5.3 more turnovers per game than its opponents.
Up next, the Bobcats will compete in the Sun Belt Conference Championship at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. Texas State will play the winner of No. 7 Coastal Carolina and No. 10 Georgia State at 5 p.m. on Thursday with the winner advancing to the semifinals. The game will be streamed live on WatchESPN/ESPN3. The full bracket can be viewed here.
For all things Texas State women's basketball, be sure to follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Coastal Downs App State in Regular Season Finale
BOONE, N.C. - The Coastal Carolina women's basketball team closed the 2017-18 regular season with a 66-51 victory at Appalachian State on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, Coastal (16-13, 10-8) locks up the seventh seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Championship, and will face 10th-seeded Georgia State (8-21, 4-14) in the 5 p.m. (CT) first round match on Tuesday.
Appalachian State (7-22, 5-13) will be the ninth seed for the second straight season, and take on eighth-seeded Arkansas State (15-14, 10-8) at 11 a.m. (CT) on Tuesday.
Saturday victory saw Coastal's three scoring leaders in Jas Adams, DJ Williams and Naheria Hamilton combine to score 43 of Coastal's 66 points.
Adams led the way with 20 points, her 12th 20-plus point performance of the season. Hamilton finished with 17 points, tying her career high, and Williams followed on her heels with 16 points.
Coastal had a great day shooting, finishing 51 percent from the field overall. It was the Chants' fourth time this season shooting above 50 percent. However, the Chants had their eight game streak of out-rebounding opponents come to an end as the Mountaineers held a 40-31 advantage in the category.
App State was led by the 24 points of LaPresha Stanley, but had no other players score in double figures. App closed the game at 31 percent from the field, including a 4-20 mark from 3-point range.
Appalachian State claimed the first lead of the day as it scored eight of the game's first 10 points. Coastal responded with seven straight points to briefly go in front before the Mountaineers ended the opening quarter on a 5-2 run. Adams kept the Chants in the game in the first quarter, scoring nine of Coastal's 11 points.
Adams was held scoreless in the second quarter, but it did not matter as the Chanticleer defense held strong and kept the Mountaineers off the board for the first nine minutes. The Chants scored 12 unanswered points during that time, including five points from Hamilton. Stanley scored App's only four points of the quarter in the final minute, cutting what had been a double-digit deficit to only six points as Coastal led 23-17 at halftime.
Coastal's offense exploded for 27 points in the third quarter as the Chants shot 72 percent overall from the field while making three of their four 3-point attempts. Coastal was also nearly perfect from the free-throw line, knocking down eight of nine shots. The Chants quickly went in front by double figures as they opened the quarter on a 16-3 run. Hamilton led the scoring charge with 10 points, followed by Williams with nine. Coastal led by 19 points on four occasions, including a 50-31 lead following a pair of Adams' free throws to close out the quarter.
Coastal took its largest lead of 21 points early in the fourth quarter and remained ahead by double digits for the remainder of the game. App made a late push, narrowing the margin to as little as 11 points, but its attempt came with too little time remaining.
Entering the day, Coastal could have had an opportunity to move as high as sixth in the standings, but needed a loss by South Alabama at Georgia State. However, the Jags pulled out a one-point victory, 70-69, in the closing seconds. Georgia State, Coastal's upcoming first-round opponent, is 3-2 in its last five games with an upset of fourth-seeded Troy and close loss against fifth-seeded USA.
Troy Blasts Georgia Southern, Enters SBC Tourney as No. 4 Seed
STATESBORO, Georgia – Troy got a career-best performance from Jasmine Sanders as it defeated Georgia Southern, 95-80, on Saturday in Hanner Fieldhouse to wrap up the regular season.
Sanders turned in career-highs with 28 points and eight rebounds. The freshman was 11 of 16 from the field including five of Troy's season-high 13 three-pointers. Sanders has scored 10-plus in six straight games and leads the team averaging 17 points and 2.8 treys per game over that span.
Troy (17-12, 12-6 Sun Belt) has now won 10 of its last 12 games heading into next week's Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The Trojans enter the event as the No. 4 seed earning a first round bye and, on Thursday, will take on the winner of the No. 5 South Alabama-No. 12 ULM game.
Six Trojans scored in double figures in the program's 12th consecutive win over Georgia Southern. Harriet Winchester hit four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points while Jasmine Robinson added three shots from distance to contribute 13 points. Kayla Robinson scored 12 but chipped in with five assists. Amber Rivers turned in 11 points while Dajia Williams had 10, both recorded eight rebounds.
Troy out-rebounded the Eagles 59-27, marking the fewest by an opponent since allowing just 24 boards to Nicholls on Dec. 14, 2016. Sky'Lynn Holmes turned in a game-high 11 rebounds for the Trojans, her seventh double digit rebounding performance of the season.
Georgia Southern (5-24, 2-16) did not go down quietly as the Eagles hit 10 threes in the game and shot 41.4 percent (29-70) from the field. Nakol Franks led the way for Georgia Southern with 18 points. Alexis Foulks had 17 and Alexis Brown finished with 16.
LEWIS BLOCKS FINAL SHOT TO SEAL PROGRAM WIN 600 FOR WOMEN’S BASKETBALL AT GEORGIA STATE
ATLANTA, Ga. – The University of South Alabama women's basketball team (18-11, 11-7 SBC) win in thrilling fashion to takedown Georgia State (8-21, 4-14 SBC), 70-69, for the program's 600th victory.
With 19 ticks on the clock, the Jags committed a shot-clock violation and the Panthers advanced the ball past half-court with a timeout as USA had a one-point lead. Kierra Henry possessed the ball and with three seconds left and attempted a three-pointer. However, Antoinette Lewis rejected the shot and grabbed the rebound to clinch it for the Jags.
Lewis scored 13 points on a 5-of-11 shooting day and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds, including 11 of the Jags' 22 at the offensive end of the floor, for her third double-double of the season. The freshman forward also tied her career-high in blocks with three and went 3-for-3 at the charity-stripe.
Savannah Jones lead South Alabama with 20 points while shooting 7-for-17 from the field, 6-for-13 from behind-the-arc. Jones had six rebounds, three assists and a block on her stat line.
Chyna Ellis made up a trio Jags with double-figure points with 16 as she also brought down 11 rebounds to collect her 12th double-double of the season. The senior center tied the program single-season block record she set last year at 93 rejections this season and shot 6-of-14 from field.
Shaforia Kines had a team-high six assists and two steals to go with nine points in the win.
Georgia State has four of its five starters with double-figure points. Shaq Miller-McCray Janessa Miller, Kierra Henry and Madison Newby combined for 65 of the Panthers 69 points. Henry lead them with 21 points and Miller-McCray had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Wallace and Bradshaw Power A-State to Win at ULM
MONROE, La. (3/3/18) – Lauren Bradshaw tied a career-high with 24 points and Morgan Wallace turned a career best 20 points as the Arkansas State women’s basketball team erased at 13-point halftime deficit to defeat Louisiana-Monroe 80-73 on Saturday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
The Red Wolves (15-14, 10-8 SBC) trailed 39-26 at the halftime break, but Wallace and Bradshaw combined to score 38 points in the second half to lead A-State to the comeback victory. Each also added 11 rebounds to their afternoons to finish with double-doubles, the first of Wallace’s career, while Starr Taylor scored 12 points and dished six assists to pace the Red Wolves.
Bradshaw scored 20 points and had eight rebounds in the second half, while Wallace scored 18 of her 20 points in the third and fourth quarters. The duo also helped spark a 12-0 in the fourth quarter that put Arkansas State out in front for good.
Arkansas State 41 percent (26-of-63) from the field and grabbed 40 rebounds, while ULM went 23-of-58 (40 percent) from the field but had just 29 boards in the contest. The Warhawks made 12, 3-pointers on the day including four each from Gabriella Cortez and Alexus Johnson. Cortez led ULM with 26 points.
How It Happened (First Half):
ULM went on a 12-0 run in the second quarter to build at 34-22 lead. The run saw the Red Wolves go without scoring for over four minutes, while the Warhawks hit three, 3-pointer during the stretch.
After a slow start to the game from both teams, ULM caught fire from beyond the arc in the first quarter and continued to shoot well from long range in the second quarter. ULM finished the half 6-of-14 from beyond the arc. A-State shot just 29 percent in from the field, while ULM hit 46 percent of shots from the field.
How It Happened (Second Half):
The Red Wolves quickly worked the erase the deficit in the second half and used a 15-2 run at the start of the third quarter to tie the game at 41-41. ULM took the lead on a 3-pointer by Cortez, but Wallace answered with a trey of her own and then put her team out in front a few player by getting a putback on a Bradshaw miss to go up 47-46 with 2:46 left in the quarter, but the Warhawks and worked to even the score at 51-51 by the end of the frame.
Wallace and Bradshaw combined to score 19 of A-State’s 25 points in the period.
ULM opened the fourth quarter with two quick 3-pointers by Cortez to go up 57-53, but A-State answered in a big way and went on a 12-0 run over a 2:39 span to take the lead for good. Wallace and Bradshaw combined to score eight points during the run.
ULM worked the lead down to 71-65 with 3:19 to go but could get no closer as the Red Wolves went 7-of-10 from the free throw line down the stretch to put the game away.
Bradshaw and Wallace combined for 38 points in the second half and were a combined 11-of-16 from the field. As a team the Red Wolves shot 57.1 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes and scored on 68 percent of their possessions.