JONESBORO -- Brian Boyer insisted the UALR women's basketball team was better than its record. The Arkansas State coach and his team found that to be the case Monday night at the Convocation Center.
ASU, the preseason Sun Belt Conference favorite, trailed for much of Monday's game and traded the lead with the Trojans 11 times before senior guard Aundrea Gamble took over in the fourth quarter of a 66-53 victory.
Gamble scored 19 of her 27 points in the second half. She had a key assist with about six minutes left, when she called for Khadija Brown-Haywood to go to the wing, where Gamble passed her the ball and she hit a three-pointer.
Sparked by that three-pointer, the Red Wolves (12-3, 6-0) closed on a 15-4 run. Gamble scored seven in a row in the final two minutes.
"Credit to Little Rock. They made us earn this win," said Brown-Haywood, who was slowed for much of the game but finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.
UALR (5-10, 3-3) kept it close the way Coach Joe Foley had said he thought they had to -- by running the ball through their post players. Kaitlyn Pratt had a career-high 21 points and a season-high 11 rebounds, while Shanity James had 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Trojans.
The two forwards made 18 of UALR's 23 shots from the floor and combined for 12 offensive rebounds and helped slow down a game against a team that likes to play fast.
But Pratt and James missed shots inside on consecutive possessions with four minutes left and UALR trailing 55-51. After Pratt's basket with 2:39 left made it 57-53, the Trojans were held scoreless the rest of the game as the Red Wolves pulled away.
The game was as tight as Boyer said he expected it to be. The coach even cautioned not to look at UALR's losing record following his team's victory over Appalachian State on Saturday night.
"We don't like a physical game. We're a finesse team," Boyer said. "We like to get out in transition and Little Rock, their game plan was very good and they executed it well. Fortunately for us, we just made a few plays and we were able t get a win."
Pratt, James and Keanna Keys all started for the first time since a season-opening loss at Tulane, signaling Foley's focus on the trio of experienced forwards. But Keys got into foul trouble, playing only 15 minutes and scoring 2 points. That meant Pratt, who played 35 minutes, and James, who played 38, were on the floor for most of the game.
Foley said both were exhausted by the final stretch. He also said he thought the minimal help from his guards played a part, too. Alexius Dawn made her only shot and finished with 2 points, while Sharde' Collins and Monique Townson combined for six points.
"We got a little tired and our guards showed a little inexperience," Foley said. "We made a lot of defensive mistakes, especially with Gamble. She made us pay for quite a few things.
It was Gamble, the two-time Sun Belt player of the year, who led ASU through its final charge. Coming off a 20-point performance against Appalachian State, Gamble made 11 of 17 shots in scoring her most points in a conference game this season.
"I was just trying to push the ball as hard as I could, and tried to get them on their heels a little bit," Gamble said. I think in the fourth quarter, I kept attacking the basket and it happened."
Boyer said it took a little prodding at halftime to get the aggressiveness out of Gamble.
"Gamble needed to get a shot every possession," Boyer said. "Today was one of those days, in the second half, where we had to. We told the other players, 'If it misses, you've got to go rebound it.' And she did that."
Gamble had eight points in the first half and scored six in the final 2:32 of the third quarter to help ASU take a 43-41 lead into the fourth quarter. She scored ASU's first four points in the final quarter, and her assist of Brown-Haywood's three sparked the final push.
It was enough to help ASU make up for a wide rebounding gap -- UALR held a 44-33 edge, including 19 offensive rebounds --to win its 18th consecutive home game and stay unbeaten in the Sun Belt.
"I think it's one of those games where both teams were exhausted," Boyer said. "Fortunately, we had a four-point lead and I think being at home, it allows you to mentally get through it a little bit."
Sports on 01/19/2016