UALR needed a little Moore at end

UALR forward Ronjanae DeGray (right) drives to the basket as Texas-Arlington’s Cirrea Johnson defends during the fourth quarter Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.
UALR forward Ronjanae DeGray (right) drives to the basket as Texas-Arlington’s Cirrea Johnson defends during the fourth quarter Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.

For most of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's 68-65 victory Saturday against the University of Texas-Arlington, the game was about the DeGray sisters.

At the very end, sophomore guard Terrion Moore showed up.

Moore scored the Trojans' final four points to power the Trojans (9-8, 5-1 Sun Belt) to a 4-0 record at the Jack Stephens Center versus Sun Belt foes this season.

Moore, who did not score in 17-plus minutes prior to her late-game arrival, converted a tough, go-ahead layup and was fouled with less than two minutes to go. She made the free throw to put UALR up 67-65 with 1:46 remaining. She added another free throw with two seconds left after the Trojans' defense stopped the Mavericks on four consecutive possessions.

"The only thing I was thinking was to stay focused so we could get the win," Moore said.

Moore's moments capped off a thrilling end against the Mavericks (12-5, 4-2), who outscored UALR 19-14 in the fourth quarter to nearly manufacture an upset.

Senior sisters Ronjanae and Raeyana DeGray controlled most of the offense Saturday.

They combined for 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting as the Trojans built a 36-29 halftime lead. Raeyana DeGray posted all 11 of her points in the opening half, and also chipped in three offensive rebounds.

"Rebounding," Ronjanae DeGray said, "that's Rae's number one mission."

Ronjanae DeGray scored eight of her 19 points in the opening half as UALR expanded a 19-17 first-quarter lead by outscoring the Mavericks 17-12 in the second quarter.

The Trojans started the third quarter off predictably as Ronjanae DeGray slipped past a Maverick defender, caught the ball at the free-throw line, turned and watched an in-rhythm jumper flush through the net.

Most of her points came via jump shots instead of layups, the primary source of her offense this season.

She was feeling it so much that she even surprised herself. With 2:46 remaining in the third quarter, she stepped beyond the three-point arc and buried her first three-pointer of the season and the second of her career. She last made a three-pointer on March 10 of last season against Troy.

When asked about it, she just screamed.

"Ahh!" she yelled while smiling. "I'm not going to lie, I was so happy."

The Mavericks made a late run, cutting a 10-point deficit with 1:43 remaining in the third quarter to a 56-53 deficit with 8:38 to go.

"I thought our kids played with a lot of poise at times," UALR Coach Joe Foley said. "At the start of that fourth quarter, we got a little bit complacent. They were being aggressive."

Mavericks senior guard Laurynn McGowen made a running layup with 7:09 left and was fouled. Her free throw tied the game at 56-56.

UALR junior guard Kyra Collier scored the Trojans' next six points, including two free throws and a pair of off-the-dribble jump shots. She finished with 18 points, including a 10-of-10 showing from the free-throw line. The Trojans made 20 of 22 from the charity stripe.

Texas-Arlington senior guard Cierra Johnson made a layup with 4:17 remaining in the fourth, was fouled and made the free throw. The Mavericks held a 63-62 lead.

Ronjanae DeGray made a mid-range jumper to retake the lead at 64-63 on the next possession. Johnson countered with a layup on the Mavericks' next series.

"We weren't moving our feet, and we were tired," Foley said.

UALR and Texas-Arlington were trading buckets until the only scorer left was Moore.

Sports on 01/20/2019

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