Trojans not afraid to lose games early

Building an impressive nonconference record has never been the goal for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock women's basketball team under Joe Foley.

This season's coronavirus-shortened lead up to Sun Belt Conference play is no different.

Foley's Trojans (2-2) need to win two of their next three games to enter conference play with a winning record, something UALR has done once since its landmark 69-60 NCAA Tournament victory over Texas A&M in 2015.

Western Kentucky, today's opponent in a 2 p.m. tipoff at the Jack Stephens Center, is a Conference USA team that used to be one of the Trojans' biggest rivals in the Sun Belt before leaving after the 2015 season.

Western Kentucky (0-2) is coming off a 22-7 season.

"It should be a great game," Foley said.

UALR plays the University of Central Arkansas on Wednesday in Conway and plays host to No. 13 University of Arkansas on Saturday before starting Sun Belt action Jan. 1.

"That's what this week is about," said Foley, whose team lost to No. 10 Texas A&M 79-56 on Thursday. "Kind of getting ready for conference. Try to get into a rhythm. This next week, we're playing some super talent. Got another SEC team coming in here at the end of the week."

Foley said he believes a team learns more when playing the best teams it can schedule rather than building a fancy record, and the Trojans have done as much.

UALR is 3-17 against SEC teams since the 2014-15 season, ending a 14-game losing streak with an 82-74 victory Dec. 5 over Vanderbilt.

"I've always prided ourselves and our program in that we want to be the best, and to do that you've got to play the best," Foley said. "You can't be afraid of losing a ballgame this time of year."

Foley said the Trojans learned plenty in the 23-point loss to the Aggies, the fifth time UALR has played and lost to A&M since winning in the NCAA Tournament.

"We're not super quick," he said. "We're fair athletically. We're good-sized, and we've got to learn to use our size and move our feet a little better.

"We're going to go into conference knowing what we need to be doing, knowing [what we] need to do to get better. What we're doing well."

The Trojans learned Thursday that not every team is going to allow point guard Mayra Caicedo penetrate for layups or get the ball to open players behind the three-point line."

The Trojans did outrebound an A&M team that had been outrebounding its opponents by 10 in its first four games.

UALR simply couldn't make shots inside against the taller Aggies, and A&M's perimeter defense limited UALR to a single three-pointer in seven attempts.

The Trojans hit 19 of 51 (37.3%) from the field, 44 of those attempts coming inside the three-point line. They also turned it over 21 times.

"We were kind of our own worst enemy," Foley said.

A&M Coach Gary Blair said he was expecting a much tighter contest against Foley's retooled team that features Division I transfers Bre'Amber Scott (20.0 ppg), Brianna Crane (13.8 ppg) and returning starter Teal Battle (11.3 ppg).

"Coach Foley has his trifecta, in Scott, Crane and Battle," Blair said. "They're all going to be all-conference in their league once he starts getting a little more from his post players."

One of the positives from the A&M game, Foley said, was the play of senior post Krystan Vornes who had 11 points and 12 rebounds, including 7 offensive.

"They're going to keep getting better and better," Blair said of UALR. "You get better by playing the competition. They're going to battle to win their side."

Blair said UALR does not look like a team that goes beyond seven deep.

"He's got to keep those kids out of foul trouble and keep them healthy," Blair said.

Thursday's victory was as much about the Aggies playing well as it was the Trojans not playing well.

It's the fifth consecutive year the Aggies have seen Foley's motion offense.

"Four of those kids have seen it three straight years," he said. "They were used to it. I don't try to run it because I don't teach it that well. I run sets. It's a different game for Joe to prepare for me than he does for Vanderbilt."