SUN BELT WOMEN

‘Lethargic’ UALR good enough

— Louisiana-Monroe put an emphasis on getting the ball inside early, but when the shots didn’t fall all UALR had to do was pull away.

Taylor Gault and Janette Merriex led UALR with 16 points each, and the Trojans never trailed in a 71-54 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.

UALR (6-1, 2-0 Sun Belt) led 44-27 after a one-sided first half. Louisiana-Monroe (1-6, 0-2) gave itself several opportunities around the basket but shot 1 of 8 in the first 6 minutes. UALR led 21-5 after the first 10 minutes, making 9 of 15 shots while Louisiana-Monroe was 2 of 13.

“We didn’t handle the first half well,” Louisiana-Monroe Coach Mona Martin said. “The second half we got tough with them. You can’t miss an easy shot against a good team.”

Louisiana-Monroe guard Jae Shin hit two three-pointers that pulled the Warhawks within 30-16 at 5:43. Guard Alexar Tugler followed with a deep three-pointer as the shot clock expired that cut UALR’s lead to 37-24 with 2:42 remaining.

But Gault responded with a three-pointer and Ka’Nesheia Cobbins converted a leaning jump shot to expand UALR’s lead as time expired.

“We got rebounds and pushed down the floor,” UALR Coach Joe Foley said. “After that, we lost our intensity.”

UALR coasted in the second half. The Trojans cut to the basket more often, and both teams ended up in foul trouble. UALR led 55-36 with 11:25 remaining, and the Trojans were never seriously challenged in the second half despite finishing the game 10 of 26 from the free-throw line.

UALR maintained its lead by scoring points off turnovers and finding open shots for Gault.

“Pretty lethargic,” Foley said. “We could play with more enthusiasm.”

Cobbins and Kiera Clark added 9 points each for UALR.

Tugler led Louisiana-Monroe with 12 points, and Alayshia Hunter added 10 points.

Sports, Pages 32 on 12/02/2012

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