NEW ORLEANS -- Joe Foley reaffirmed what he had seen the day before.
Appalachian State had beaten Arkansas State University 79-68 in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament by commanding the low post. Mountaineers 6-4 sophomore center Bayley Plummer had 18 points, and her 19 rebounds were three rebounds shy of the tournament's single-game record.
Arkansas State could not drive against her on offense, and it couldn't stop her on defense, which opened up outside shots for freshman guard LaPresha Stanley, who scored a career-high 27 points.
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock women's basketball team cannot let Appalachian State do the same.
"I just think their size, their rebounding [Tuesday] was excellent," Foley said after Wednesday morning's practice at Loyola University. "When you've got those two ingredients, when you've got size like that and you've got a perimeter player like they've got, that's a tough team. It's going to be a tough game."
No. 1-seeded UALR (20-9) beat No. 9 Appalachian State (8-22) in both of their meetings earlier this season, and the Trojans have not lost their first game in the Sun Belt Tournament since a 48-34 loss to South Alabama in 2006.
The Trojans have entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed five times since then, and they won the championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2011, 2012 and 2015.
UALR has been in New Orleans since Sunday -- the day after it finished the season in a 72-63 overtime victory over Louisiana-Lafayette. That gave the Trojans time to attend the Arkansas State-Appalachian State game Tuesday morning, which gave junior forward and leading scorer Ronjanae DeGray time to study her opponent.
"Our game is inside-out," said DeGray (13.9 points per game), who was named to the All-Sun Belt first team on Monday. "So, if we kill 'em inside, then we can loosen it up and get our guards some shots. Any game, not just this game, it's important to go inside-out, take it to them, maybe get them in foul trouble if we can, and just create layups, jumpers and threes."
That was the formula in UALR's 61-35 home victory over Appalachian State on Feb. 24. The Trojans outscored the Mountaineers 26-24 in the paint, held Plummer to 7 points and 11 rebounds, and pressured their opponent into shooting 0 of 13 from the three-point line.
UALR's one-on-one defense also forced eight steals, which led to a 21-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
"We just try and play good defense, pressure where we can and take away the strengths of the other team," said senior guard Monique Townson, whose 1.8 steals per game ranks fifth in the Sun Belt. "I think that's what helps us the most."
Foley said Appalachian State's size in the post keep teams from getting "any easy baskets" in the paint. If the Trojans can't score in the post, the offense will have to reverse to an outside-in approach, and UALR ranks second to last in the Sun Belt in three-point shooting percentage (29.1 percent).
"We're very inconsistent [from three-point range]," Foley said. "So, if we're missing those shots, the game gets a lot harder."
TODAY’S GAME
UALR vs. Appalachian State
WHEN 11:30 a.m. Central WHERE Lakefront Arena, New Orleans RECORDS UALR 20-9, 17-1 Sun Belt Conference; Appalachian State 8-22, 5-13 RADIO KARN-AM, 920, in Little Rock
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
UALR POS NAME, HT, YR PPG RPG G Monique Townson, 5-6, Sr. 7.7 4.7 G Tori Lasker, 5-7, Fr. 8.0 2.4 G Terrion Moore, 5-8, Fr. 4.1 3.1 F Ronjanae DeGray, 6-0, Jr. 13.9 5.6 F Keanna Keys, 6-1, Sr. 8.9 5.1 COACH Joe Foley (309-162 in 15th season at UALR, 765-243 overall in 30th season)
APPALACHIAN STATE POS NAME, HT, YR PPG RPG G LaPresha Stanley, 5-9, Fr. 11.5 5.2 G Tierra Wilson, 5-8, Fr. 10.8 3.2 G Nicola Mathews, 5-8, Soph. 7.0 2.4 F Armani Hampton, 5-11, Soph. 4.0 4.1 C Bayley Plummer, 6-4, Soph. 9.2 11.6 COACH Angel Elderkin (44-77 in fourth season at Appalachian State and overall)
TEAM COMPARISON
UALR APP 59.8 Points for 57.5 52.9 Points against 66.7 +3.0 Rebound margin +3.1 +2.6 Turnover margin -7.1 42.8 FG pct. 37.3 29.1 3-pt pct. 30.3 71.7 FT pct. 62.5
Sports on 03/08/2018