UALR women's Coach Joe Foley kept his starting five on the floor for much of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Given the Trojans claimed their second consecutive conference tournament championship, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock coach's plan worked just fine.
In UALR's 80-64 semifinal victory against Appalachian State on March 15, Foley played all five of his starters for either 39 or 40 minutes.
Foley played four of his five starters in UALR's 57-56 championship game victory against South Alabama on March 16 for 38-plus minutes.
Senior forward Raeyana DeGray acquired two quick fouls in the first quarter and was forced to sit. She played 30 minutes.
The starting quintet of sophomore guards Tori Lasker and Moore, junior guard Kyra Collier and senior forwards Raeyana and Ronjanae DeGray led the Trojans to their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010.
The group helped the team earn a No. 12 seed in the tournament's first round. The Trojans will meet No. 5 seed Gonzaga at 2:30 p.m. Central on Saturday at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Ore.
Because it worked so well, will Foley use the same strategy -- substitute infrequently and ride it out with the starters -- on Saturday?
"They'll basically play the most minutes," he said Wednesday. The team will head to Corvallis this morning.
Ideally, around this time of the year, Foley prefers to use a seven-player rotation. That includes a rotation of three total post players (one off the bench) and one guard off the bench.
Foley did the same in last year's NCAA Tournament.
Only seven players in UALR's 91-49 loss to No. 3 seed Florida State played more than 10 minutes.
Nine of Gonzaga's 13 players are 6-0 or taller and Ronjanae DeGray, UALR's center, is 6-0. UALR's rotation is expected to begin with 6-2 senior forward Yanina Inkina's role being expanded out of need.
"We'll use Yaya a little more because of the way they play defense [man-to-man], her defense, her shooting," Foley said. "We need to get some scoring on the floor. We struggled a little bit scoring in the tournament, I thought.
UALR went 4 for 12 from the three-point line in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament but did not need three-pointers to win, scoring 72 of its 137 tournament points in the paint (52.6 percent).
Against a long Gonzaga team which will have an obvious offensive advantage against the undersized Trojans, Foley is prioritizing scoring, hoping to match Gonzaga point-for-point.
"I'm looking to get as much scoring on the floor as we can," he said.
Inkina, who has a smooth shot, made 8 of 21 three-pointers this season, the fourth most on the team. She can create her own shot and has proven to be a solid scoring option when the Trojans need a boost.
Lasker leads all Trojans with 49 of 121 (40.5 percent) three-point shooting.
While Lasker's shooting could be valuable Saturday, the starting point guard's 5-7 frame will not do the Trojans many physical favors.
Depending on if the Trojans stumble into foul trouble, Inkina would be the likely choice to step in. If foul trouble becomes a real issue, 6-1 sophomore forward Teal Battle, one of UALR's best athletes, is the next option, but she doesn't provide a jump shot like Inkina's.
Inkina could see minutes in Lasker's place -- bumping junior guard Kyra Collier, who Foley said is the team's strongest ball-handler, to point guard beside Moore, UALR's best on-ball defender, as the guards on the floor.
"Yaya can help us a lot," Moore said. "She's another big. I don't want to call her a guard, but she has different levels to her game. She can play inside. She can play outside.
"She can hit the three, that'll help bring them out some and create a lot more space on the court. And she can help guard the bigger people, because they are big."
NCAA Women’s Tournament
UALR VS. GONZAGA
WHEN 2:30 p.m. Central, Saturday
WHERE Gill Coliseum, Corvallis, Ore.
RECORDS UALR 21-10; Gonzaga 28-4
TV ESPN2
Sports on 03/21/2019