The University of Arkansas at Little Rock women's basketball team won its 10th consecutive Sun Belt Conference game with a 92-52 victory over Georgia Southern on Thursday night at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.
The victory also was the 10th in a row overall for UALR (13-8, 10-0 Sun Belt) which scored more points at halftime, 53, than it had in nine games this season.
"Believe me, it felt good over on the bench," said UALR Coach Joe Foley, who coached in his 1,000th career game Thursday and now has a 758-242 record. "It's been tough watching recently, especially on the road. We're not a great shooting team yet, but I think we're turning it around. I can see us starting to understand the offense a lot better."
The offensive surge came partly from a slew of three-pointers by freshman guard Tori Lasker.
Lasker had 12 points by halftime and was 4 of 5 from three-point distance, the last of which came before the halftime buzzer and gave the Trojans a 53-23 lead.
"That's what we need," said Foley, whose team entered the game as the Sun Belt's 11th-ranked three-point shooting team (27.4 percent). "Hopefully that's a sign to come. We need someone who can bust open on the outside."
The Trojans also dominated Georgia Southern (4-17, 1-9) near the basket, outscoring the Eagles 24-6 in the paint during the first half.
Junior forwards Ronjanae DeGray and Yanina Inkina combined for 27 points, and Inkina's mid-range jump shot with two minutes left in the first half extended the UALR lead to 48-18 with a 10-2 run built on points scored entirely by Inkina and DeDeGray.
Georgia Southern was 6 of 18 (33.3 percent) shooting during the first half, and the Eagles were 8 of 12 (66.7 percent) from the free throw line.
UALR also scored 24 points off Georgia Southern's 13 first-half turnovers, which helped the Trojans open the game with a 9-0 run. Eagles sophomore forward Hailey Dias-Allen lost control of the ball, which UALR senior point guard Monique Townson recovered and passed to Lasker for a three-pointer.
Georgia Southern finished the game with 20 turnovers, and UALR outscored the Eagles 29-15 in points off them.
Townson, DeGray and freshman guard Terrion Moore each had two steals.
"We take pride in defense," said Lasker, who also had three assists and two rebounds. "Usually that's where the offense starts at."
The Eagles made three jump shots and two free throws during the opening quarter, and Lasker made another three-pointer with 34 seconds left in the first to help the Trojans to a 28-9 lead.
UALR outscored Georgia Southern 39-29 during the second half, when Foley subbed in most of his bench.
Foley, who is the Sun Belt career leader in victories (183), had another opportunity to reflect on a career that now has spanned 1,000 games.
"It felt like it," Foley said. "They go by quick, and the older you get, the quicker you go. I'm just thankful."
ARKANSAS STATE 76, GEORGIA STATE 63
Lauren Bradshaw had 10 points and 11 rebounds to lead Arkansas State University (11-10, 6-4) past Georgia State (5-16, 1-9) on Thursday in Jonesboro. Lycia Peevy and Akasha Westbrook each scored 11 points for the Red Wolves. Madison Heckert added 10 points off the bench.
ASU scored 26 points off 17 Georgia State turnovers.
The Panthers were led by Madison Newby with 15 points. Francesca Minali added 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Sports on 02/02/2018