TOP 25 WOMEN

LSU’s ‘chaos’ disrupts upset bid

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIN KRAIN --12/15/2013--
Taylor Gault dribbles past LSU's Rina Hill during the first half of UALR's loss at home Sunday afternoon.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIN KRAIN --12/15/2013-- Taylor Gault dribbles past LSU's Rina Hill during the first half of UALR's loss at home Sunday afternoon.

The litmus test for the UALR women’s basketball team’s quality before Sunday had been a 34-point loss at Texas last week. That changed, as did Coach Joe Foley’s opinion of his still evolving team, during two hours of play against a strong a nationally ranked SEC opponent Sunday afternoon at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.

UALR didn’t upset No. 13 LSU in front of an announced crowd of 2,635, but the Trojans led the Tigers by as many as 10 points in the first half - and for 21 minutes overall - before giving way to foul trouble and an overwhelming size disparity.

It wasn’t until LSU was able to get the ball inside to 6-5 forward Theresa Plaisance and get to the freethrow line in the second half did the Tigers finally pull away for a 58-51 victory.

Foley gladly accepted Sunday’s showing, especially after the way UALR performed in a 60-26 loss at Texas on Dec. 4, a game in which UALR shot 19.2 percent.

“There ain’t no comparison between the two,” Foley said. “That’s what I’m proud of, that we made that jump from one week to somebody being pretty soft mentally, to somebody that toughened up.… That made it fun to watch today.”

The Trojans put themselves in position to beat a ranked team for the first time since knocking off No. 19 Oklahoma State in 2008.

UALR (4-4) converted transition baskets and handled LSU’s zone defense better than it had any other zone this year while leading for most of the first half. Kiera Clark was 5 for 5 in the first half, knocking down mid-range jump shots and a three-pointer helping stake the Trojans to a 25-15 lead with 3:40 left in the first half.

UALR, which led 30-24 at halftime, led for more than 18 of the first half’s 20 minutes and shot 44 percent from the field.

“We stuck to the game plan,” said Clark, who made her first six shots and had a team-high 17 points. “Coach wanted us to penetrate, kick, knock down 15 footers and we did.”

LSU Coach Nikki Caldwell countered by inserting a defensive-minded lineup in the second half, utilizing a fullcourt press that disrupted UALR’s rhythm.

LSU forced three turnovers and outscored UALR 10-3 in the first four minutes of the second half to take a 34-33 lead, its first since the game’s opening minute.

“Organized chaos,” Caldwell said of the second-half strategy. “We wanted to defend 94 feet and disrupt the rhythm of the game because it was definitely in Little Rock’s favor in the first half.”

The Tigers (8-1) utilized their height on the offensive end, feeding the ball to Plaisance, who regularly found easy baskets over a UALR defense that has nobody taller than 6-2 Hannah Fohne.

Plaisance scored 15 of her 19 points in the second half and finished with 15 rebounds. Plaisance scored eight consecutive points at one point, six coming on free throws to give LSU a 48-39 lead with 8:12 left.

LSU made 26 of 37 free throws for the game, with Plaisance making 11 of 17; UALR made 7 of 12.

The Trojans committed 16 of their 25 fouls in the second half, forcing Foley to sit three of his starters - Taylor Ford, Taylor Gault and Kaitlyn Pratt - after each picked up their fourth foul.

“That was the game-changer,” said Ford, who had 13 points and eight assists. “When they’re getting foul after foul after foul, and they’re getting point after point after point, and they’re not getting anything on offense, it’s definitely something that can get to you.”NO. 5 KENTUCKY 73, E. TENNESSEE ST. 56

Janee Thompson and Samarie Walker each scored 12 points to lead fifth-ranked Kentucky to a 73-56 victory over East Tennessee State on Sunday.

The Wildcats tied a school record with their 11th consecutive victory to openthe season.

East Tennessee State (2-6) forced four lead changes and three ties in the first eight minutes, but the Wildcats used a 14-2 run to go up 31-18 with 8:15 remaining in the first half.

Kentucky led 49-29 at the half, but the Buccaneers pulled within 54-44 with13:28 left. But East Tennessee State couldn’t get within less than 10 points.

Linnae Harper added 10 points for Kentucky, and freshman guard Makayla Epps had eight. Epps was involved in an automobile accident on the Bluegrass Parkway while returning home from a funeral Saturday night, but wasn’t seriously injured.

Kentucky was without second-leading scorer DeNesha Stallworth. She had arthroscopic knee surgery to repair loose cartilage in her left knee and is expected to miss at least two weeks.

NO. 12 PENN STATE 66, NO. 24 TEXAS A&M 58

Maggie Lucas scored 26 points in Penn State’s home victory over Texas A&M. Ariel Edwards added 14 points for Penn State (7-3). Courtney Walker led Texas A&M (6-3) with 20 points, and Tori Scott had 14.

NO. 16 GEORGIA 91, KENNESAW STATE 32

Merritt Hempe scored 14 of her career-high 18 points in the first half to help host Georgia rout Kennesaw State.

Shacobla Barbee and Tiaria Griffin each had 13 points for Georgia (10-0).

Kristina Wells and Bria Young led the Owls (1-8) with 12 points each.

Sports, Pages 17 on 12/16/2013

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