SUN BELT WOMEN : UALR recovers, takes 29th in a row at home
Posted on Thursday, January 8, 2009
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/KAREN E. SEGRAVE UALR guard Shanika Butler (10) drives past North Texas' Jeanee Thompson during the second half of Wednesday's game at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock. The Trojans won 70-61 for their 29th consecutive home victory.
It was another slow start and another victory for the UALR women at home.
UALR won its 29th consecutive home game Wednesday, beating North Texas 70-61 before 1,286 at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.
UALR (12-3, 4-0 Sun Belt Conference) trailed by 12 points in the first half before surging to a halftime lead. The Trojans then coasted through most of the second half, turning back a couple of North Texas runs to hold off the Mean Green.
"They take a lot of pride in their defense," UALR Coach Joe Foley said. "They rely on that and realize that's what you have to do if you're going to be a good team. I was proud that we came back. We never really got out of sync."
UALR's 29 consecutive home victories ties the Trojans for third nationally behind Connecticut (31) and Hartford (30), which beat Binghamton earlier Wednesday. North Carolina also has 29 consecutive home victories.
Sophomore forward Chastity Reed started cold before finishing with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 4 steals. Reed missed her first seven field-goal attempts and made 8 of 22 in the game. She is averaging 27.3 points in Sun Belt Conference play.
Reed was 3 of 13 at halftime after making 9 of 14 second-half shots in Saturday's victory over Western Kentucky.
"I told her Saturday that she better enjoy it because you'll have a night where you can't buy one," Foley said. "You just have to know in the back of your mind that you have to keep shooting and stay with it. She had a tough night, but I thought Anshel Cooper did some good things for us. We moved her around a little bit."
Cooper, a junior guard, broke out of a scoring slump, scoring 17 points. She had scored five combined points in her past two games while battling the flu bug.
"I felt a lot better tonight, and that's why I took more shots," Cooper said.
Junior guard Kim Sitzmann became the fifth player in UALR history to score at least 1,000 points with 10 on Wednesday. She now has 1,003 career points. Cooper will likely become the sixth. She needs five points Saturday at New Orleans to reach 1,000 for her career.
Sophomore point guard Asriel Rolfe added eight assists.
UALR is ranked No. 10 by ESPN.com in its mid-major poll. The Trojans are also receiving votes in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll.
North Texas (5-10, 1-3) was led by Amber Jackson's 26 points and eight rebounds. The Mean Green committed 22 turnovers.
"We got out and were very aggressive and I thought we caught Little Rock a little unaware," first-year North Texas Coach Shanice Stephens said. "But they are a strong, fundamentally sound team. When we're inconsistent like that, we can only sustain it for a little bit of time."
North Texas took the lead early, trapping the Trojans out of a zone defense and disrupting the offensive flow. The Mean Green scored the game's first seven points and led 21-9 with 7:25 left on a basket by Tricia Lee.
"We had open shots but they weren't falling," Cooper said. "We had to take things a little slower."
Reed then made her first field goal, spinning to hit a free-throw line jump shot for a 21-11 score with 6:42 left. It would start a 17-0 run by UALR to give the Trojans the lead. UALR held North Texas without a point for almost seven minutes.
"Defense always changes the game for us," Reed said. "Defense is our bread and butter. Offense was slow, so thank goodness for the defense."
PCT-FG 42.6; FT 92.9. 3PT-5-10, 50.0 (Sitzmann 2-6, Rolfe 1-1, Cooper 1-1, McIntyre 1-2). TO-14 (Sitzmann 3). BL-3 (Reed, Sitzmann, Butler). ST-10 (Reed 4). Halftime-UALR 26, North Texas 23 Officials-Corteau, Bonner, Gallien Attendance-1,286
DENVER 64, ARKANSAS STATE 63
DENVER - Arkansas State was in the worst place to try to create a winning streak. In their first road game since their first Sun Belt Conference victory, the Red Wolves blew a big second half lead as Denver took a close victory at troublesome Magness Arena. The loss was another disappointment for Arkansas State (7-8, 1-3), picked to tie for the West Division title, and the Red Wolves fell to 0-7 at Magness Arena. Arkansas State has already lost to UALR, its rival also picked to win the West, and the Red Wolves' only conference victory came against New Orleans on Sunday. Arkansas State led 31-26 at halftime and built a 15-point lead in the second period, but Denver (8-6, 3-1) rallied behind its three-point shooting, hitting four in the second half. The Pioneers held the Red Wolves to just one three-pointer in the final eight-plus minutes. The Pioneers cut it to 54-46 with threepointers on consecutive possessions, and pulled within two points of the lead on a three-pointer with 5:25 left.
Denver had 12 blocked shots in the first half while drawing just four fouls, and finished with 19 overall. Arkansas State had eight steals in the first period as it built its halftime lead.
- Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
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