ASU makes it look easy this time

JONESOBORO - Jane Morrill played a part in an Arkansas State victory over UALR as a freshman, but the senior forward had to wait three years to get another.

This time, though, Morrill and Aundrea Gamble made it look easier than it usually is when facing a team coached by Joe Foley.

Gamble scored 27 points and Morrill added 10 points and seven rebounds as ASU scored the game’s first eight points Saturday on the way to a 77-45 drubbing of UALR in front of an announced crowd of 2,017 at the Convocation Center.

It was the Red Wolves’ first victory over the Trojans since winning 54-51 on Feb. 16, 2011, snapping a four-game skid, and was just their second victory in the past 10 games over their in-state rivals. The 32-point margin was the third-largest ever for ASU in the series.

“It’s pretty huge,” Morrill said. “It really hasn’t hit me yet. It probably will tomorrow. And, as a senior, to beat them out there, UALR has always been a great team.”

ASU Coach Brian Boyer would rather his players think of Saturday’s victory as nothing special, even though the Red Wolves shot 56.6 percent from the floor and held UALR leading-scorer Taylor Gault to four points. But even he conceded that it meant quite a bit to Morrill, who is 2-5 against the Trojans, and junior Hannah Qedan, who added eight points and seven rebounds.

“You can certainly put yourself in Jane’s shoes and you understand that because they’ve had the upper hand in this series for quite a while,” Boyer said. “It’s my job now, when we get back on the court, to make them realize it’s just one win and now we’ve got to move forward.”

Boyer could have turned his attention toward a stretch coming up in which five of ASU’s next six games are on the road after the opening three minutes of Saturday’s match up. That’s how long it took ASU (12-7, 6-1 Sun Belt Conference) to build an 8-0 lead after UALR (9-9, 4-4) committed turnovers on its first three possessions.

Then, with ASU leading 12-6 six minutes into the game, the Red Wolves started an overwhelming run that rendered the second half fairly meaningless.

Brittney Gill’s basket with 12:58 left started a nine-minute stretch in which ASU outscored UALR 22-2. Gill’s jumper with 3:46 left capped the run to make it 34-8 with 3:46 left. In between were nine points scored by Gamble and nine missed shots and six turnovers by UALR.

ASU led 40-17 at halftime and stretched it to as much as 73-37 with 3:11 left.

“That was pretty tough,” Foley said. “They’ve got a great bunch. Gamble is a heck of a player and a little bit too much for us right now.”

ASU’s defensive pressure on the perimeter was a bit too much for UALR, too.

Senior guard Taylor Ford was forced into seven turnovers in the first half and Gault, who averaged 14.4 points, was held to 2-of-16 shooting. Shanity James led UALR with 10 points, but the Trojans were held to 33.3 percent shooting and the Red Wolves scored 20 points off 16 Trojans turnovers.

“Always our plan is to ball pressure, whoever it is,” Gamble said. “But, yes, we wanted to bother [Ford], make her not see the offense so much. They were trying to get the ball to Taylor Gault, so we wanted to distract that as much as possible.”

The difficulties for Ford and Gault highlighted UALR’s third consecutive road loss the fifth time this season it has scored 45 points or less in a game.

“They got after [Ford and Gault],” Foley said. “They should expect that. They didn’t handle it very well today. It should be a good experience for them. We’ll come back better for it.”