Sophomore guard Aundrea Gamble scored a game high 28 points and sophomore Jalen O’Bannon added a season-high 15 as Arkansas State defeated Tennessee Tech 90-75 Wednesday afternoon at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro.
The Red Wolves (5-5) never trailed in the game and led 20-10 with 13:34 to go in the first half. Gamble made four consecutive three-pointers to start the game to help ASU take command early.
“It was hard to find flaws in our first-half performance,” Coach Brian Boyer said. “Defensively, we were really good and active and we managed on the boards really well. Offensively we were very good, and I thought what they tried to defend us with we did a good job of scoring against it.”
By the time Gamble missed her first three-pointer, Arkansas State had built a 30-16 advantage with 10:08 to play in the first half. She had 14 points just six minutes into the game and finished with 22 points in the opening half on 8-of-10 (80 percent) shooting.
ASU started strong and led 52-25 at the break after shooting 51.6 percent (16 of 31) from the field. The Red Wolves moved the ball well, which allowed O’Bannon to slip underneath defense in the paint. She finished with 12 points in the first half, which included knocking down her first career three-pointer.
ASU also took advantage of its free-throw opportunities in the opening 20 minutes, making 13 of 14 (92.9 percent) in the first half. ASU finished 23 of 32 (71.9 percent) from the free-throw line.
The Golden Eagles (3-8) outscored ASU 12-6 to open the second half and cut their deficit to 58-39 with 14:53 to play, but the Red Wolves pushed the advantage back to 22 when Gamble scored and added a free throw.
Jane Morrill added 14 points for ASU, while Carlisha Wyatt scored all nine of her points in the second half.
ASU shot 50 percent (30 of 60) for the game and had a season-high 21 assists. Tennessee Tech committed 20 turnovers, which the Red Wolves converted into 26 points.
Sports, Pages 22 on 12/19/2013