Joe Foley's 14th UALR women's basketball team won't be considered his most talented. But, to this point, it is among its most decorated.
UALR enters the Sun Belt Conference Tournament as the top seed after winning 17 league games, the second most in program history. The Trojans are led by the league's player of the year in Sharde Collins, first-team selection Kaitlyn Pratt and the top coach in Foley.
The Trojans (23-7) who play No. 9 Appalachian State in a quarterfinal at 11:30 a.m. today at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, got to this point despite a shaky defense and an even more inconsistent offense.
But Foley is trying to lead his fifth Trojans team to an NCAA Tournament appearance, thanks to its ability to adapt throughout the season.
"It's been one of the better teams when it comes to practice and I think that's why we've won 17 games," Foley said. "They come and play and 90 percent of the time they play great defense, and some games they have great offense to go along with it and we can blow people out.
"The key to this thing is they're just a blue-collar team. They just keep trying to get a little bit better, and they have."
If UALR, which has won five in a row since its only Sun Belt loss at Texas State on Feb. 11, is any better than it was a year ago, it'll likely be winning the tournament. The Trojans came about as close to advancing to the NCAA Tournament as possible without doing so in 2016.
Then a No. 2 seed, UALR fell to No. 4 Troy 61-60 on a last-second shot. Foley said neither he, nor his players have forgotten the loss which allowed Troy to go to the NCAA Tournament and UALR to the WNIT, where it lost in the first round at Saint Louis.
"You don't ever get over losses like that," he said. "That will always be there. And sometimes that helps, it depends on what type of person you are."
Four of the eight players who saw the floor in that game will play for UALR today, including Collins and Pratt, both of whom are averaging more than 30 minutes per game this year. Collins averages 15.1 points per game, while Pratt averaged 14.2 points and 6.3 rebounds.
Collins' shooting helped UALR's early season surge, when she helped it score 70 points in eight consecutive games. Then, after a loss at Texas State, Pratt's leadership and a renewed focus on defense helped it clinch a regular-season conference title.
The Trojans held four of their final five opponents to under 50 points and they're holding teams to a Sun Belt-best 54.3 points.
"Our defense has gotten a lot better as far as far as intensity and we've got to play defense when we're not scoring," Foley said. "I think the [Texas State] game taught us just because you're not shooting the ball well you can't quit playing defense. That's why we got blown out there."
UALR's first opponent is one it has handled twice, but Foley wasn't pleased either time. The Trojans won 77-69 in Boone, N.C. and 67-55 in Little Rock. Foley expects to see some zone defense today and throughout the tournament, which has been a chore for UALR to handle this season.
The Trojans will likely have to rely on their defense to navigate the three rounds of the tournament required to reach the NCAA Tournament. Foley said he doesn't think his team, which currently ranks No. 45 in the RPI, would have much of a chance of an at-large berth.
"It'd be tough," said Foley, whose team earned an at-large bid in 2010. "I think the committee will look and say this team is not afraid to play tough teams, but they didn't beat one of them. Without a top-50 win it'd be tough."
Sun Belt Conference
Women’s Tournament
Lake Front Arena, New Orleans
QUARTERFINALS
TODAY’S GAMES — All times Central
Appalachian State vs. UALR, 11:30 a.m.
La.-Lafayette vs. Texas State, 2 p.m. South Alabama vs. Texas-Arlington, 5 p.m.
Arkansas State vs. Troy, 7:30 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Appalachian State-UALR vs. Louisana-Lafayette-Texas State, 5 p.m. South Alabama-Texas-Arlington vs. Arkansas State-Troy, 7:30 p.m.
FINAL
SUNDAY’S GAME
Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.
Sports on 03/09/2017