Red Wolves (13-0) put game away late

Arkansas State kept its Sun Belt Conference record perfect, holding Louisiana-Lafayette scoreless for the final 3:58 on the way to a 74-62 victory Thursday night at the Cajundome in Lafayette, La.

The two teams were tied 62-62 when the Red Wolves (19-3, 13-0 Sun Belt) finished the game on a 12-0 run and increased their conference lead to four games over Louisiana-Lafayette and UALR.

Aundrea Gamble hit the 30-point mark for the fifth time in her Arkansas State career, scoring 30 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.

The Ragin' Cajuns (16-6, 9-4) had taken a 60-59 lead after a Keke Veal three-pointer, but the Red Wolves countered with a Khadija Brown-Haywood three-pointer to lead 62-60. Sylvana Okde tied the game with a layup, but Louisiana-Lafayette would not score again.

Brittney Gill sparked the final run with a layup, then Gamble followed with another basket for a 66-62 lead with 2:15 remaining. Brittany Fowler increased the advantage to seven with a three-pointer with 1:40 to play.

"Today is one of those where the experience of maturity level of your team gets tested and this team was certainly was up to the test," Arkansas State Coach Brian Boyer said. "Just to see how this team handled going down late in the fourth quarter, and then you get Khadija knocking down a three-pointer on the other end and that just shows how this team doesn't panic."

The game featured 6 ties and 11 lead changes, 7 of which came in the second quarter. Gamble scored 22 points in the first half and helped Arkansas State to a nine-point lead in the second quarter when she took over and went on a 10-0 run.

She hit two free throws to put Arkansas State ahead 31-30 with 3:40 left in the second quarter and then made a three-pointer in transition after Lauren Bradshaw collected one of her three blocked shots in the half.

Gamble followed with a mid-range jumper to give the Red Wolves a six-point advantage and hit her fourth three-pointer of the half after an offensive foul by the Ragin' Cajuns turned into points for the Red Wolves. She finished the half 4 of 5 from beyond the arc and also grabbed 6 rebounds.

Arkansas State continues a four-game road trip at 2 p.m. Saturday at Louisiana-Monroe.

Sports on 02/12/2016

Upcoming Events