SUN BELT WOMEN

UALR women pull away to win

UALR guard Sharde Collins (right) dribbles around ASU defender Dominique Oliver during the Trojans’ 73-59 victory Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.
UALR guard Sharde Collins (right) dribbles around ASU defender Dominique Oliver during the Trojans’ 73-59 victory Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.

UALR's women's basketball team's new and improved offense staked the Trojans to a big first-half lead Saturday. Then, when Arkansas State pressed, the Trojans came up with another big run to keep things from getting too uncomfortable.

UALR scored on four consecutive possessions in the final four minutes after ASU cut a 20-point lead to eight points, giving the Trojans a final push toward a 73-59 victory at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock, where UALR is now 12-0 against its in-state rival.

Sharde Collins scored a career-high 24 points, including a three-pointer with 2:07 left to put UALR up 72-58.

Less than three minutes before that, though, a floater from ASU's Brittany Fowler made it 62-54 with 4:52 left after UALR had led 48-28 early in the third quarter.

But UALR's Kyra Collier, who finished with 11 rebounds and 10 assists, stole a pass at midcourt and coasted in for a layup, Monique Townson made a three-pointer from the wing, Ronjanae DeGray scored inside and Collins hit the three-pointer to seal it.

UALR Coach Joe Foley said he "liked how the kids responded" in the final minutes. ASU Coach Brian Boyer couldn't put the blame on fatigue overtaking his team in the final minutes, as the Red Wolves were playing without three of their top guards because of injuries.

"You could tell [UALR] responded," Boyer said. "They made a couple of really big plays. ... More than anything, they responded."

It's becoming the norm for UALR (11-6, 5-0), which has a five-game winning streak and will face Troy on Thursday night for sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt Conference standings.

The Trojans entered Sun Belt play averaging 50 points per game, but have now scored 73 points or more in four consecutive games. Foley again credited his team's ability to run the floor for another offensive surge.

Senior forward Kaitlyn Pratt and Townson each had 15 points, while DeGray added 12 for the Trojans, who shot 46.8 percent from the floor and scored 26 points off 21 turnovers by the Red Wolves.

Fowler had 16 points for ASU (3-14, 1-4), which has lost four in a row. ASU shot 45.1 percent from the field, but was hampered by turnovers, a handful of which came during a 13-3 UALR surge that ended the half for a 40-26 lead.

"We can't make one mistake and end it," Boyer said. "It just seems like one turns into two, turns into three. Against a good team like Little Rock, they'll take advantage of that."

UALR did so initially in the second quarter. ASU pulled to within 27-23 on a driving layup by Dominique Oliver with 4:37 left in the half, but the Red Wolves made just one more basket before halftime.

Meanwhile, Pratt scored inside, Collins made a three-pointer and Pratt hit a jumper to make it 34-25 and jump start the run to close the half.

UALR stretched its lead to 48-28 four minutes into the second half, and it was 57-31 heading into the fourth quarter. ASU switched to a zone defense in the fourth quarter and held the Trojans scoreless for almost four minutes. Fowler's basket with 4:52 left made it 62-48.

But ASU couldn't get any closer and UALR closed out the victory.

"We're an up-and-down team," Townson said. "We need to be able to maintain it throughout the whole game at the end of the year. And I think that's what [Foley] is looking for us to do."

Despite the winning streak and place atop the standings, Foley said the Trojans are far from complete. He said he's still not pleased with their defense -- the Red Wolves made 7 of 12 shots in the fourth quarter -- and their offense is inconsistent, especially without Collins on the floor. But he said his team passed a test Saturday and will get an even bigger one Thursday against Troy, which beat UALR in the Sun Belt Tournament final last season.

"We'll see where we're at," Foley said. "There's a lot of basketball left, and it's going to come pretty quick now."

Sports on 01/15/2017

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