With 6 seconds remaining Monday night in Dallas, a University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff women’s basketball team that hadn’t been great from the line needed two vital free throws.
Zaay Green made both, and the Lady Lions defeated Southern Methodist University 78-76 for their first road win and first Division I victory of the season.
Green made the most of her homecoming to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex by scoring a game-high 23 points. The Duncanville, Texas native added 9 assists and 8 rebounds in front of a big group of her friends and family at Moody Coliseum.
UAPB (3-6) led 76-74 when SMU fouled Green with 6 seconds to play. The Lady Lions had made 13 of 22 free throws to that point, and Green was 50 percent from the line. Despite those struggles, Green stepped up and made both to make it a two-possession game.
SMU (3-5) scored an easy layup on the other end with a half-second left to play. UAPB called a timeout to advance the ball and inbounded it off an SMU player to run out the clock.
Kaila Walker added 12 points for UAPB, a new season-high for her, with four 3-pointers, all in the first half. Maya Peat scored 11.
SMU’s 76 points is the fewest UAPB has allowed against a Division I foe this season. The previous low was 77 points by Mississippi State.
The Mustangs got the better of UAPB early in the first and second quarters, but UAPB finished strong both times. SMU led 8-2 early before Walker hit her first 3-pointer, which began a 14-2 Lady Lion run. Peat had back-to-back layups to give UAPB its first lead.
SMU answered early in the second. The Mustangs took a 20-16 lead over the first four minutes of the quarter, but UAPB again dominated the back half of the frame. Walker hit her fourth 3 in the final minute of the half to see the Lady Lions lead 31-23 at halftime.
The Lady Lions didn’t let SMU control the first minutes of the third quarter, instead scoring the first two buckets. UAPB took its largest lead of the night, 37-25, with 8:10 to play in the third.
The Mustangs didn’t quit. Reagan Bradley hit SMU’s first 3-pointer, starting an 18-5 run which gave SMU a 43-42 lead with 3:24 remaining in the third.
Green had been quiet until this point with just 5 points. After Coriah Beck scored a layup to give UAPB the lead back, Green took over. She scored the Lady Lions’ next 10 points to retake momentum entering the fourth quarter.
UAPB got its lead back up to 69-58, but SMU fought back. The Mustangs called a timeout with 16 seconds to play to draw up a play trailing 76-74. They got the shot they wanted as UAPB left Jiya Perry wide open. She missed the shot, and Chantae Embry’s putback didn’t fall. Green pulled down the vital rebound and drew the foul which set her up to ice the game from the line.
Tiara Young led SMU with 22 points, followed by Embry’s 17.
UAPB will remain in the metroplex to play North Texas at 11 a.m. Wednesday.