ARLINGTON, Texas -- The UALR women's basketball team's resurgent offense was a no-show for much of Thursday's game against second-place Texas-Arlington.
Held to 30 points through the first three quarters, the Trojans scored 28 in the fourth to outlast Texas-Arlington 58-49 at the College Park Center in Arlington.
The victory was the 12th in a row for the Trojans (18-6, 12-0 Sun Belt), who set a school record for their best start in the Sun Belt and extended their lead over the Mavericks (15-6, 8-3) in to 3½ games.
Sharde Collins had 17 points, Kyra Collier 14 and Ronjanae DeGray 10 for UALR, which survived 39.6 percent shooting from the floor and 16 turnovers.
The Trojans entered the fourth quarter trailing 32-30 and were down 41-35 with 7:19 left before a layup by Monique Townson started a 12-2 run that ended on two Collier free throws for a 47-43 lead with 3:34 left.
After Townson's layup, she made a steal that led to a jumper by Collins, then Collins added a three-point play to give UALR a 42-41 lead. DeGray made a free throw, and after a Rebekah Van Dijk jumper tied it at 43-43, Collier's fastbreak layup gave the Trojans the lead back at 45-43.
UALR, averaging 75.8 points in Sun Belt games, missed 10 of its first 11 shots and was held to six points in the first quarter. Texas-Arlington led 21-19 at halftime.
Kaitlyn Pratt, averaging 17.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in Sun Belt games, finished with 6 points points on 1-of-8 shooting and just 2 rebounds. Townson had 8 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds.
The Trojans made 20 of 25 free throws, including 8 of 11 in the fourth quarter.
Van Dijk, the Sun Belt's preseason player of the year, was held to 6 points, 10 points under her average, and 6 rebounds.
Crystal Allen led the Mavericks, who shot 40.9 percent and committed 20 turnovers, with 16 points while Cierra Johnson had 15.
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TEXAS STATE 63, ARKANSAS STATE 43
SAN MARCOS, Texas -- A poor second quarter negated a positive start for Arkansas State on Thursday.
The Red Wolves missed their first seven shots and were held to five points in the second quarter as they squandered a lead, losing for the fifth time in their past six games.
Taeler Deer had 19 points and Erin Peoples, a Little Rock Parkview graduate, had 11 to lead Texas State (12-10, 7-4).
ASU (5-19, 3-9) jumped to a 17-8 lead after a three-pointer by Peyton Tennison with 1:58 left in the first quarter and led 17-12 heading into the second. ASU was outscored 21-5 in the second quarter and trailed 33-22 at halftime.
Brittney Fowler, Tahlon Hopkins, Dominique Oliver and Lauren Bradshaw each had eight points for the Red Wolves, who set a program record for losses in a season.
SOUTHLAND MEN
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 84,
ABILENE CHRISTIAN 73
Derreck Brooks had 23 points and 14 rebounds, Thatch Unruh had a career-high 20 points and Central Arkansas won its third consecutive game on Thursday night in Conway, the first time the Bears have won three in a row in four years.
The Bears (7-18, 6-6) jumped to a 9-2 lead and later went on a 9-0 run to take control in the first half. They led 37-28 at halftime, and after the Wildcats (10-13, 4-8) tied it at 43-43, the Bears went on a 10-3 spurt to go up 53-46. The Bears led by as much as 70-55 with 5:37 left. Brooks made 7 of 13 shots from the floor and 8 of 10 free throws, while Unruh made 4 of 6 three-pointers. Jordan Howard added 19 points for the Bears, who shot 52.9 percent and made 8 of 16 three-pointers.
Sports on 02/10/2017