The UALR women's basketball team's offensive struggles Thursday night weren't a huge surprise to Coach Joe Foley, whose team has labored to score points through eight games.
What disappointed Foley in UALR's 56-50 victory over Oral Roberts in the Jack Stephens Center was a third-quarter defensive lapse that cost UALR the lead, necessitating a comeback sparked by a lucky bounce and a big fourth quarter from senior forward Kaitlyn Pratt.
Raeyana DeGray's three-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer bounced off the front of the rim and fell through the net to tie the game at 35-35, then Pratt scored 12 of her career-high 24 points in the final quarter as the Trojans pulled away for their third consecutive victory.
"That was a little rough tonight," Foley said. "We'd look good a few times, and then we'd go back and not do the right thing, and I wasn't real pleased with the way we played tonight."
Pratt, who also had 12 rebounds, agreed with her coach. The Trojans (4-4) scored the game's first six points when the Eagles missed their first eight shots from the floor, but their biggest lead in the first half was 12-5. They led 20-18 at halftime, then Oral Roberts (3-4) used a 9-2 run to take a 27-22 lead and extended it to 35-28 late in the third quarter.
Pratt, who raised her scoring average to 12.9 points per game, said the third quarter has been a point of concern for UALR, which has outscored its opponents in the third quarter just one time all season.
"That backfired on us," Pratt said of a relaxed defensive effort that let Oral Roberts make 7 of 16 shots in the third quarter.
But Ronjanae DeGray scored inside before Raeyana DeGray scored twice before the end of the quarter, once inside and then the three-pointer in front of the team's bench to tie the game heading into the fourth.
"If that doesn't fall, it's tough," Foley said. "It kind of gave us a little momentum."
Sharde' Collins, who had 14 points, scored to give UALR a 37-35 lead to open the fourth, and the Trojans never trailed again.
Collins made a free throw and Pratt scored six of UALR's next eight points. At one point, she rebounded a missed three-pointer and put it back up for a basket, then made a steal at midcourt that led to a Collins jumper and a 53-48 lead.
"The defense was playing behind her, and she took advantage of that," Collins said of Pratt's fourth quarter.
Despite the victory, Foley was upset with the defensive effort. The Eagles shot 38.9 percent for the game, lower than what opponents average against the Trojans, but that was after a 2-for-12 start. Oral Roberts shot 47.5 percent over the final three quarters and 53.8 percent (14-for-26) in the fourth quarter.
Kaylan Mayberry led Oral Roberts with 15 points while making 3 of 5 three-pointers, and Faith Ihim scored 13 points, most of which came inside.
"We missed assignments on help," Foley said. "They were finding open threes, just didn't do a very good job of help and recovery. That was the biggest thing."
The defensive lapses didn't end up costing UALR a victory when its offense picked up. Pratt's 24 points were the most for a UALR player this year.
"That's what seniors are supposed to do, and she's doing a great job," Foley said. "If you have a winning team, you're going to have somebody that you depend on. Kaitlyn struggled in the first half, a lot of our young girls got down, and as a senior she kept plugging and finally got it going again."
SWAC MEN
TENNESSEE-MARTIN 73, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 68
PINE BLUFF — A second-half rally got Arkansas-Pine Bluff to within one point with less than two minutes remaining, but the Golden Lions committed a turnover with a chance to take a lead and never got another chance in Thursday’s loss at H.O. Clemmons Arena.
Joe’Randle Toliver hit a layup and then a three-pointer to cut UAPB’s deficit from 64-56 with 3:46 left to 64-61 with 3:02 left. Travon Harper then hit two free throws to get within 64-63, and Kennedy McKinney’s jumper got it to 66-65. The Golden Lions (1-6) forced a turnover to take possession with a chance to take a lead with 1:20 left, but Kedar Edwards made a steal, was fouled and hit two free throws to halt the comeback.
Toliver had a season-high 19 points for UAPB, while Ghiavonni Robinson had 14 points. UAPB shot just 38.3 percent, but stayed in the game thanks in part to 12-of-28 three-point shooting. Edwards led Tennessee-Martin (7-2) with 25 points.
SOUTHLAND MEN
SE MISSOURI STATE 87,
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 63
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — The Southeast Missouri State Redhawks used a 36-1 run to open the second half to topple Central Arkansas 87-63 at the Show Me Center.
UCA’s first field goal of the second half did not come until the 10:08 mark when freshman Darraja Parnell scored. The Bears missed 12 consecutive shots, with their lone point coming at the free-throw line from center Albert Christensson.
That came after the Bears (1-6) shot 59.3 percent from the field and made four three-pointers in the first half to grab a 37-30 lead at halftime. The Redhawks (4-3) shot just 37.9 percent overall and made just 4 of 16 from three-point range in the first 20 minutes. But that turned quickly in the second half as SEMO shot 59.5 percent from the field and hit 10 of 18 (55.6 percent) from three-point range to run away from the Bears.
Jordan Howard led the way for UCA with 15 points. Derreck Brooks, Mathieu Kamba and Parnell all added 11 points, with Brooks recording a team-high 7 rebounds and Parnell a team-high 3 steals. Trey Kellum led four players in double figures for SEMO with 21 points.
Sports on 12/02/2016