SUN BELT
UALR 72,
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 63, OT
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock held Louisiana-Lafayette (15-15, 10-8 Sun Belt) scoreless in overtime to reach the 20-victory plateau at the Cajundome in Lafayette.
It was also the third time under Joe Foley the Trojans (20-9, 17-1) finished the conference season with just one loss.
UALR trailed 40-35 at halftime and by as much as seven late in the third quarter before taking a 56-55 lead with 6:04 left in the fourth on a Keanna Keys layup. The two teams went back and forth for the remainder of the quarter with UALR’s Monique Townson tying the score 63-63 on a jumper with 55 seconds left in regulation that forced overtime.
A Ronjanae DeGray three-point play got the Trojans rolling in the extra period. A jumper by DeGray and two Tori Lasker free throws gave UALR a 70-63 lead with 1:03 left. After a Louisiana-Lafayette miss, Keys converted a layup to set the final margin.
DeGray had game-highs of 23 points, 13 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocked shots. Townson added 18 points and 8 rebounds, while Lasker chipped in 12 points for the Trojans, who shot 50.9 percent (30 of 59) from the field.
Troi Swain led Louisiana-Lafayette with 16 points, while teammate Kendra Howard chipped in 13.
UALR outrebounded Louisiana-Lafayette 39-29 but was outscored 42-32 in points in the paint.
ARKANSAS STATE 80,
LOUISIANA-MONROE 73
Arkansas State University (15-14, 10-8 Sun Belt Conference) came back from a 39-26 halftime deficit to defeat Louisiana-Monroe (4-25, 1-17) at Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe.
The Red Wolves outscored the War-hawks 25-12 in the third quarter to tie the score 51-51. Louisiana-Monroe managed to open a four-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but ASU responded by taking a 67-57 advantage with 4:47 remaining on a Morgan Wallace layup.
The Warhawks got within 73-68 at the 2:01 mark, but Lauren Bradshaw scored three points, and Jada Ford and Wallace hit two free throws apiece to secure the victory.
Bradshaw scored 20 of her 24 team-high points in the second half, while Wallace scored 18 of her 20 points in the final two quarters.
Starr Taylor added 12 points for the Red Wolves.
ASU shot 57.1 percent (16 of 28) in the second half and made 77.8 percent (21 of 27) of its free throws while earning the No. 8 seed in next week’s Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Louisiana-Monroe’s Gabriella Cortez played the entire 40 minutes and scored 26 points for the Warhawks, who dropped their 15th game in a row.
SOUTHLAND
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 59,
NORTHWESTERN (LA.) ST. 39
The University of Central Arkansas (21-8, 14-4 Southland Conference) led from start to finish and sent Northwestern (La.) State to its eighth consecutive loss in a victory at the Farris Center in Conway.
Kamry Orr’s two free throws with 8:20 left in the opening quarter gave UCA the lead it would never relinquish. Orr’s two free throws with 5:17 left in the game gave the Sugar Bears their largest lead at 52-26.
The Sugar Bears led 29-15 at halftime. UCA forced 24 Northwestern State turnovers and turned them into 25 points. The Sugar Bears finished with a 30-27 rebounding edge, but led 12-2 in second-chance points.
UCA’s Taylor Baudoin led all players with 17 points on 6-0f-12 shooting from the field and 5 of 6 free throws. Orr had 15 points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. Kierra Jordan added 9 points, 5 rebounds and a game-high 3 steals in 19 minutes for the Sugar Bears.
Gabby Bell had a team-high 10 points for the Lady Demons, who shot 36.4 percent (12 of 33) from the field.
The Lady Demons came into the game averaging 57.2 points per game but did not score over 54 in any of those eight losses.
SWAC
ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 79,
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY ST. 64
The University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff (8-20, 6-12 Southwestern Athletic Conference) outscored Mississippi Valley State (2-28, 1-16) 26-9 in the third quarter and breezed to the victory at H.O. Clemmons Arena in Pine Bluff. The Lady Lions led 33-27 at halftime and used their 17-point third-quarter advantage to take a 59-36 lead into the fourth.
Faith Ohanta had game-highs in points
(18) and rebounds (13) to lead UAPB. Malaik Muhammad made 8 of 8 free throws and finished with 14 points for the Golden Lions, who also got 13 points from Shawntayla Harris and 10 more from Aiya Hassan.
Desiray Mosley led Mississippi Valley State with 16 points.
UAPB made 26 of 31 free throws
(83.9 percent) and outrebounded the Devilettes 58-20, including 46-18 on the defensive end.
It was the second consecutive victory for UAPB, which won 66-60 on Monday night at Jackson State.
The loss was the sixth in a row for the Devilettes.
They started the season on a 19-game skid before defeating Jackson State on Jan. 27. Their only other victory came Feb. 10 at Alcorn State.