UALR unveils new wrinkle

Photo courtesy of UALR
UALR forward Shanity James (20) looks for a shot between Oklahoma defenders
LeNesia Williams (32) and Peyton Little in the Trojans? 66-62 victory Sunday
at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.
Photo courtesy of UALR UALR forward Shanity James (20) looks for a shot between Oklahoma defenders LeNesia Williams (32) and Peyton Little in the Trojans? 66-62 victory Sunday at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.

A sophomore guard making her season debut sparked UALR, then one of the program's all-time leading scorers finished off the team's second big victory of the season Sunday.

Sharde' Collins scored all 12 of her points in the first half and Taylor Gault scored 10 in the final six minutes as UALR held off Oklahoma for a 66-62 victory in front of an announced crowd of 1,330 at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.

"We grew up tonight," Coach Joe Foley said. "When you match up with Oklahoma, you've done something pretty special."

The Trojans' second victory this season over a major conference opponent -- they won at LSU on Nov. 14 -- was kick-started by what Foley called one of the best offensive performances in his 12 seasons as the Trojans coach.

Collins, who was slated to redshirt until last week's loss to Tulane, scored six points as UALR outscored Oklahoma 10-0 to take a 14-4 lead less than four minutes into the game.

The Trojans (6-1) didn't let up, forcing the Sooners (5-3) into turnovers and turning them into easy baskets. UALR shot 76 percent in the first half (19 of 25) and scored 19 points off 11 turnovers. The first half was so good that even after shooting 33.3 percent in the second half UALR finished 58.1 percent for the game, a season-high.

"I was just happy to be on the floor again, putting up shots," Collins said.

Foley said he pulled the redshirt off Collins because of her quickness and ability to break a defensive press.

Collins' presence was a surprise to Oklahoma Coach Sherri Coale, who said her team didn't prepare for Collins because she had not played.

But Coale said that wasn't the reason for UALR leading for more than 19 minutes of the first half while surging to a 43-29 lead.

"You still have to guard her," Coale said, frustrated by the lack of aggressiveness shown by the Sooners. "We would try to do it, and then we would make a shot and we would be hesitant the next time."

Foley said he didn't expect his team to repeat its 76-percent first-half shooting in the second half, but UALR's inability to do much of anything almost cost it the lead in the second half.

The Trojans started 2 of 14 from the field in the second half as Oklahoma pulled within 52-46 with 8:46 left.

Gabbi Ortiz's three-pointer from the wing cut UALR's lead to 52-50 with 6:40 left.

"I think we got too relaxed," Gault said, explaining that the Trojans tried to adopt the approach at halftime that they were trailing by 10 instead of leading by 14. " We have to come out and act like we're fighting. It's something we have to work on."

Gault, second on UALR's all-time scoring list, came up with offense when nobody else could.

Gault followed Ortiz's three-pointer with a floater in the lane to make it 54-50. She also made a jumper, and scored UALR's final six points from the free-throw line as the Trojans held off a team that has reached the NCAA Tournament in 15 consecutive seasons.

"We had to get some buckets," Gault said. "We needed some free throws in clutch situations."

The six-minute surge is a feat Foley has seen before from Gault, who finished with a team-high 16 points in 21 minutes.

"One thing about Taylor is she has no conscience when it comes to shooting and driving the basketball," Foley said. "When I put her in the game, we're hoping to get some offense. It might be a turnover every now and again, but she's going to make something happen."

The victory capped a difficult week of practice for UALR after a 74-58 home loss to Tulane in which UALR committed 22 turnovers and Tulane shot 49 percent from the floor.

Gault described the practices as "terrible," and Foley said they were designed to limit turnovers that lead to easy baskets.

"We didn't handle the pressure great in the second half," Foley said. "But, we did good enough to hold on and that's all we can do right now."

Sports on 12/15/2014

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