JONESBORO -- Never trailing, but never comfortable, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock women's basketball team delivered the final blow in a 64-58 victory over Arkansas State University at First National Bank Arena on Saturday afternoon.
UALR (16-9, 13-1 Sun Belt Conference) led by as much as 11 points over ASU (13-12, 8-6), but the Red Wolves pulled within 56-54 with 5:28 left in the game on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Jada Ford.
Late turnovers prevented ASU from overtaking UALR, and Trojans sophomore guard Tori Lasker made a three-pointer with 2:55 left in the game that set her team ahead 63-56.
Ford and UALR senior forward Keanna Keys shared game-high honors with 16 points.
A week after losing its first conference game of the season at Troy in overtime, UALR is now one victory away from clinching the No. 1 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament and two victories away from clinching its second consecutive Sun Belt regular-season championship.
"We don't want to lose ever again," said Lasker, who finished with 15 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. "Never lose again. Especially not to A-State."
When Ford made the late three-pointer, it seemed the Red Wolves might beat the Trojans for the first time since the 2015-2016 season; but three key turnovers prevented ASU from closing the gap in the closing minutes.
ASU sophomore guard Starr Taylor lost the ball while driving for a layup, which led to a fast-break layup by UALR freshman guard Terrion Moore to put the Trojans up 54-49 with 7:33 left in the game. Then, ASU sophomore guard Payton Tennison bobbled a lateral pass, which Lasker stole and turned into a mid-range jump shot for a 60-54 lead with 4:09 left in the game.
ASU sophomore forward Madison Heckert lost control of the ball with 1:30 left in the game, and UALR, holding a 63-58 lead, slowed its offense and focused on draining the clock.
ASU finished with 21 turnovers.
"Obviously 21 turnovers is way too many," ASU Coach Brian Boyer said. "Anytime you play Little Rock, because of the limited possessions, everything is magnified. You might beat some people with that many turnovers, but you don't win in this game with that many turnovers because of the limited possessions.
ASU entered the game with the Sun Belt's third-ranked scoring offense (66.6 points per game), and the Red Wolves had averaged 62 field goal attempts per game in the previous six games.
ASU finished the game 19 of 44 shooting (43.2 percent), and junior forward and leading scorer Akasha Westbrook (13.8 points per game) fouled out with 7:08 left in the game.
"Turnovers did kind of mess things up for us," said Westbrook, who finished with 12 points and three rebounds. "We were just down by three, so those were just some key plays for us that just didn't happen."
UALR jumped to a 7-2 lead within the game's opening two minutes, while ASU struggled to convert shots in the paint. Red Wolves senior forward Lauren Bradshaw missed a hook shot and layup, and an errant pass from Taylor to Ford sailed out of bounds and led to a three-pointer from UALR senior guard Monique Townson.
ASU tied the game at 11-11 with 3:26 left in the first period, closing the margin while UALR failed to score on five consecutive fast-break opportunities.
UALR continued an 8-0 run into the second quarter, capped by a driving jump shot by junior forward Ronjanae DeGray that gave the Trojans a 23-12 lead with 9:10 left in the first half.
ASU's Ford later stole the ball from DeGray, then made a three-pointer from the left wing to bring the Red Wolves within 23-17 with 8:11 left in the first half.
That's as close as ASU would come until late in the third quarter.
ASU needed a victory to stay within range of one of the top four seeds that would reward the team with a bye in the opening round of the tournament. The loss left the Red Wolves in a three-way tie for fifth place with South Alabama and Louisiana-Lafayette.
"I told the team in there, this is not the time of year to beat people up," Boyer said. "Get your bodies healed up, four games left, and we're still trying to make a push."
The Red Wolves next host Appalachian State on Thursday, when the Trojans will host Coastal Carolina.
SOUTHLAND WOMEN
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 60, NICHOLLS STATE 42
The University of Central Arkansas (18-7, 11-3 Southland Conference) recovered from a one-point halftime deficit to down Nicholls State (12-13, 7-7) at the Farris Center in Conway. The Sugar Bears outscored the Colonels 18-11 in the third quarter in taking a 41-35 lead into the fourth. UCA’s Taylor Baudoin led all scorers with 29 points on 13-of-17 shooting from the field. Teammate Kamry Orr added 13 points, while Kierra Jordan had a game-high 13 rebounds for the Sugar Bears. UCA shot 52.2 percent from the field and outrebounded the Colonels 33-20. The Sugar Bears had 13 first-half turnovers and finished the game with 17.
SWAC WOMEN
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 89, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 72
Prairie View A&M (10-14, 8-5 Southwestern Athletic Conference) forced 26 turnovers and converted those into 23 points in the 17-point victory over the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff (5-19, 3-11) at H.O. Clemmons Arena in Pine Bluff. The Panthers led 38-36 at halftime, then outscored the Golden Lions 27-17 in the third quarter to take a 65-53 advantage heading into the fourth. Prairie View’s Shala Dobbins, the SWAC’s second-leading scorer, had a game-high 40 points on the strength of a 22-of-23 effort at the free-throw line. Faith Ohanta led UAPB with 26 points and had a team-high 11 rebounds. The two teams combined for 70 freethrow attempts. Behind Dobbins, Prairie View was 28 of 34 (82.4 percent), while UAPB made 22 of 36 (61.1 percent).
Sports on 02/18/2018