Krystan Vornes said she was just following Coach Joe Foley's friendly advice Sunday afternoon in UALR's 63-47 victory over Western Kentucky at the Jack Stephens Center.
"He said if I continue to rebound and get easy buckets, our team will win," Vornes said.
Foley's pep talk came after Vornes had 11 points and 12 rebounds in a 79-56 loss to No. Texas A&M on Thursday.
Nine of Vornes' points against A&M came in the fourth quarter, and the University of Arkansas-Little Rock coach wanted to see some carryover by Vornes.
He did.
Vornes, a 6-2 senior post from Osceola, kept on rebounding against Western Kentucky, with 12 in the first half, but was 2 of 5 from the field and 1 of 5 from the free-throw line.
Her scoring picked up in the second half.
"If I had made those layups, it would have been even better," she said of Sunday's game, though she finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds. "Just take my time, go up strong, power up. A lot of times I just go too fast. That's what coach tries to get me to work on. Slowing down and realizing the situation. That's one of the things I'll be working on these next few days at practice."
Foley's said Vornes effort has not gone unnoticed.
"It's paying off," Foley said. "She's been getting a lot of rebounds. She got a lot of rebounds against Texas A&M. She's got to work a little bit on her offense. Got to get her confidence up a little bit. She did an excellent job tonight, especially in the second half."
UALR (3-2) hit 20 of 55 (36.4 percent) and was 1 of 7 from behind the three-point line for the second game in a row.
"Shooting is where we've got to improve if we're going to be a good ballclub," Foley said. "We're getting good shots, but we've just got to be able to score. ... But that's part of being a good team, you've got to finish it off."
UALR trailed 1-0 after the first 32 seconds Sunday, but grabbed the lead and held it for the final 38:26.
A combination of solid defense and a 29-14 rebounding advantage carried the Trojans to a 29-18 halftime lead.
UALR led by as many as 21 in the third quarter before the Hilltoppers (0-3) made it a nine-point game late in the third quarter.
The Trojans pulled away again behind senior Teal Battle (21 points, 9 rebounds) and true freshman Tia Harvey (11 points, 6 rebounds).
Harvey started in place of leading scorer Bre'Amber Scott and ended up playing more than 31 minutes.
Scott, who came off the bench for the first time at UALR, contributed 8 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals in 27 minutes.
"Been waiting to get her in the game some," Foley said of Harvey. "Thought she could help us. ... For her to come in and get double figures was a big plus for us."
Foley was asked why Scott, the transfer from Mississippi State, didn't start.
Scott came into the game averaging 20.7 points.
"Trying to get the freshman some playing time, get her some experience," Foley said.
Western Kentucky Coach Greg Collins had praise for Scott and 5-4 point guard Mayra Caicedo.
"We were trying to make sure she didn't get off and get free," Collins said of Scott.
Caicedo contributed 4 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
"We were keyed on not letting her get everybody else involved," Collins said. "She sees the floor so well, creating things off the dribble. She's a slippery cat."
The Trojans' team performance was what Collins expected.
"One of the things Coach Foley's teams always do, is they defend hard and do a great job on the boards," Collins said. "They always play tough."
Freshman guard Ally Collett led Western Kentucky with 11 points, but the Hilltoppers were 15 of 47 from the field, including 2 of 15 from behind the three-point line.
"I thought we played pretty good defense," Foley said. " It gave us a chance to win the ballgame."
One more victory this week, against either the University of Central Arkansas on Wednesday in Conway or against the University of Arkansas at the Jack Stephens Center on Saturday, will give the Trojans their first above .500 nonconference record since the 2014-15 season.
"I'd like to see us end up with a winning record if we could," Foley said.
Sun Belt play is scheduled to start Jan. 1 in Arlington, Texas.