University of Arkansas at Little Rock women's basketball Coach Joe Foley clearly had been perturbed by how the Trojans performed coming out of halftime in the previous two games.
Over the last week, he'd called out his team for immaturity and complacency in those third quarters. On Wednesday, he referred to the third quarter as the team's "nemesis." Senior guard Kyra Collier had said the Trojans needed to "grow up."
On Saturday afternoon, the messages were received.
Trailing 28-25 at halftime, the Trojans dominated the third quarter, 22-10, and kept the momentum rolling in the fourth to pull away for a 67-58 victory over Arkansas State University in front of an announced crowd of 1,034 at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.
"I said, 'Guys, the last two games, third quarter, first five minutes has killed us,' so I said let's see if we can change that," said Foley, who's now five victories shy of 800 in his career. "I thought we came out and really played with a lot of intensity. That was a big part of the game."
ASU (7-10, 4-2 Sun Belt) saw its four-game winning streak snapped, and the Red Wolves lost their 15th consecutive game at the Jack Stephens Center. The Red Wolves committed 22 turnovers and were outscored 42-30 in the second half.
"We just didn't have it today. Energy wasn't there, and I'm not sure why that was," ASU Coach Matt Daniel said. "My 5-year-old, Brett, as soon as I walk out of the dressing room, she says, 'I'm mad at the Red Wolves.' My comment to her is, 'Getting mad doesn't make it any better. We just got to go be better.' "
After a back-and-forth first half, the final 20 minutes belonged to the Trojans.
[Gallery not loading above? Click here for more photos » arkansasonline.com/119asuualrwbb/]
UALR (6-11, 4-2) opened the third quarter on an 8-2 run to take a 33-30 lead. Then it became the Kyra Collier show.
Collier -- who was quiet in the first half with 5 points on 2-of-8 shooting -- scored the Trojans' final 10 points of the quarter to help UALR take a 47-38 advantage.
After the Red Wolves cut the deficit to four early in the fourth quarter, Collier knocked down 3 three-pointers in a two-minute span to keep UALR in control. After ASU pulled within 56-51 with 4:20 to play, the Trojans went on a 9-1 run to open up a 13-point lead to effectively seal the game.
Sophomore guard Jireh Washington -- who led the Red Wolves with 23 points and 7 rebounds -- scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the final quarter, but it wasn't enough to generate a comeback. Junior forward Peyton Martin finished with 10 points and nine rebounds for ASU.
From the 2:53 mark in the third quarter to the 5:59 mark of the fourth, Collier scored 19 consecutive points for the Trojans.
"Those shots were key shots at big times. She hit big shots," Daniel said. "That's what big-time players do."
Collier, a North Little Rock High School graduate, played all 40 minutes and finished with a season-high 26 points while going 5 of 10 from three-point range and tallying 7 rebounds and 4 steals.
Foley said he challenged Collier to step up in the second half after a pedestrian first two quarters.
"Coach Foley stayed on me. Second half, I knew I had to step it up as a senior," Collier said. "I pretty much told myself I needed to step up, and my teammates told me as well."
But it wasn't just all Collier for the Trojans. Junior forward Teal Battle supplemented her teammate's effort with a big day of her own, tying her career high with 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting. She also accumulated four steals.
Senior guard Sydney Chastain also played all 40 minutes for UALR, finishing with 9 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds.
It was Chastain's surge in the second quarter that steadied UALR's offense, when she scored seven of the Trojans' first nine points.
Collier then hit a jumper with 5:03 left before halftime, and UALR had taken a 25-20 lead. But an 8-0 run to close the second quarter pushed ASU ahead by three at halftime.
Sports on 01/19/2020