UALR offense adapts

Trojans figure out defensive approach

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIN KRAIN --1/24/14--
UALR's Taylor Gault and UT Arlington's Chaun Williams scramble for a loose ball during their game Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIN KRAIN --1/24/14-- UALR's Taylor Gault and UT Arlington's Chaun Williams scramble for a loose ball during their game Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.

The UALR women's basketball team was thrown a curveball but kept on rolling Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.

UALR spent Friday preparing for a variety of zone defenses it expected to see from Texas-Arlington, but it saw none of them Saturday. Instead, the Trojans spent the first seven minutes trying to figure out how to attack a triangle-and-two defense designed to slow guards Alexius Dawn and Taylor Gault.

UALR closed out the first half on a decisive run as it cruised to a 66-38 victory over the Mavericks, their 10th consecutive victory and their ninth in a row decided by 20 points or more.

Shanity James scored 17 points and had eight rebounds, while Gault scored all 13 of her points in the second half and Keanna Keys came off the bench to score 13.

James said the Trojans' latest blowout victory was a bit more satisfying for a team that has grown accustomed to them because of the early adjustments.

"They threw a curveball at us," James said. "For us to transition into getting used to it and to get into a groove and to finally score, I think we learned a lot and we matured as a team."

UALR (16-2, 9-0) played its usual good defense as it held Texas-Arlington (9-9, 3-6) to its lowest scoring output of the season and to 32.6 percent shooting while scoring 17 points off 17 turnovers.

The Trojans also shot 41.5 percent from the floor and scored more points than any other Sun Belt team had in regulation against the Mavericks, a team that had played almost as good of defense as the Trojans. Texas-Arlington held teams to 53.3 points per game and 36.2 percent shooting, both of which were second only to UALR in the Sun Belt.

Texas-Arlington's unexpected defense may have held Gault and Dawn to a combined 7 points on 2-of-9 shooting, but Coach Joe Foley was still able to compliment his team afterward.

"It's a special defense, but it also opens up things for those other kids, so they have to be a little bit more aggressive," Foley said. "They just weren't aggressive enough."

The Trojans figured it out eventually.

James scored 14 points in the first half while Texas-Arlington was focused on the perimeter, and after starting forward Kaitlynn Pratt picked up her second foul less than three minutes into the game, Keys came off the bench to score eight first-half points.

"We just recognized the fact that they didn't really have any three-point shooters on the court other than Alexius Dawn and Taylor Gault," Texas-Arlington Coach Krista Gerlich said. "So we just tired to limit those two kids' touches and let those other three kids beat us."

James and Keys helped UALR build a 38-20 lead going into halftime with layups, putbacks and trips to the free-throw line. Keys made 6 of 6 free throws for the game and UALR was 19 of 22 from the line as Foley said his team tried to take advantage of the Mavericks' aggressive defense.

"I was trying to go to the boards and rebound mostly," said Keys, who had five rebounds. "I was happy that I made my free throws, but my main focus was to rebound and go play good post defense."

Like UALR's eight other Sun Belt games, the second half had little drama. The Trojans pushed their lead to 45-25 on a layup by Gault four minutes into the half, led 51-25 after a fast-break layup by Gault with 12:18 left and 56-26 on Kiera Clark's putback with nine minutes left.

It was enough to leave Foley pleased, but not without a word of caution.

"They're playing well right now, but that can change," Foley said. "It's hard to play that level they're playing at for the whole year, so we'll take them as they come. They've got to be focused and make good plays. That's what I'm more proud of than anything.

"You don't always win if you're focused, but you've got a dang good chance if you are."

Sports on 01/25/2015

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