The script was almost identical to the day before.
Woeful offense over the first three quarters gave way to another 13-point deficit for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock women's basketball team heading into another do-or-die fourth quarter Wednesday night.
A day after they staged a fourth-quarter comeback to beat Appalachian State, the Trojans nearly pulled off another one against Louisiana-Lafayette in its own building. UALR cut the deficit to one with 1:27 to play before the Ragin' Cajuns held on for a 49-46 victory at the Cajundome in Lafayette, La.
After winning the Sun Belt Conference Tournament the past two years, UALR (12-19) was bounced out of the tournament one step shy of making a trip to the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
"When you lose this time of year, it's tough," UALR Coach Joe Foley said. "When the kids give that kind of effort, it's hard to walk in [that locker room], there's no doubt. But at least I can tell them, I said, 'Guys, you did everything you could do, you didn't quit, and so we can walk out high.' "
Trailing by three with 24.7 seconds to play -- after Louisiana-Lafayette (19-12) had missed a pair of free throws -- UALR had the ball and a chance to force overtime. Senior guard Kyra Collier drove to her left before dishing to the left wing for junior guard Tori Lasker, the same player who had drilled a go-ahead three-pointer the day before to beat Appalachian State.
Lasker took a dribble before firing a three with 12 seconds left, but it fell off the mark and Louisiana-Lafayette grabbed the rebound. After UALR was forced to foul, the Ragin' Cajuns missed two more free throws, leaving the Trojans with one last gasp.
With three seconds to play, senior guard Sydney Chastain fired up another three-point attempt from the top of the arc, but it didn't catch any of the rim as Louisiana-Lafayette survived.
"Just [a] recurring theme, and they were good shots, we had good looks and just can't get the ball to fall," Foley said. "It finally got the best of us."
Chastain was among three Trojans who finished in double figures, tallying 13 points. Collier scored a team-high 14 points but did so on 4-of-15 shooting. Junior forward Teal Battle posted 12 points and four rebounds, but she fouled out with 24 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Louisiana-Lafayette forward Ty'Reona Doucet led all scorers with 24 points. The Ragin' Cajuns took advantage of the free-throw line all night, finishing 24 of 32 while the Trojans were only 6 of 9.
In what became a trend late in the season, UALR opened flat on the offensive end, shooting 27% in the first half, turning the ball over six times and scoring only five points in the second quarter.
The Ragin' Cajuns started strong, hitting 6 of 11 in the first quarter to go up 19-13, before they eventually took a 28-18 lead into halftime. That was aided by a first-half scoring drought of over eight minutes by the Trojans.
Just like Tuesday against Appalachian State, the Trojans found themselves trailing by 13 after the third quarter, this time a 45-32 hole. Doucet did most of the damage in the quarter for the Ragin' Cajuns, scoring 14 of their 17 points.
But two early UALR threes in the fourth gave the Trojans hope.
Collier's three-point play with 1:27 remaining cut Louisiana-Lafayette's lead to 47-46, capping an 8-0 UALR run. Louisiana-Lafayette guard Brandi Williams knocked down a jumper with 54 seconds left to extend the lead to three.
But UALR finished the game hitting one of its final eight shots, and the Trojans finished the 2019-20 season with their lowest win total since 2004-05.
UALR M FG FT O-R pf a Pts
Lasker 39 1-13 0-0 0-4 0 4 3
Vornes 17 1-3 0-0 3-6 3 0 2
Chastain 40 5-9 0-0 1-3 2 2 13
Collier 39 4-15 4-5 0-2 4 1 14
Battle 25 5-12 2-4 1-4 5 0 12
Scott 1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Anderson 6 0-2 0-0 2-4 3 0 0
Knapp 14 0-2 0-0 1-2 4 0 0
Francis 19 1-1 0-0 0-3 3 0 2
Team 1-3
Totals 200 17-58 6-9 9-31 24 7 46
PCT. -- FG 29.3, FT 66.7. 3-PT. -- 6-22, 27.3 (Chastain 3-5, Collier 2-7, Lasker 1-9, Knapp 0-1). BL -- 1 (Battle). TO -- 10 (Chastain 2, Collier 2, Battle 2). ST -- 2 (Collier, Anderson).
LA.-LAF. M FG FT O-R pf a Pts
Burton 31 1-6 1-2 0-4 1 0 3
Williams 36 1-6 2-2 3-5 1 0 4
Thomas 29 0-4 3-6 3-9 3 1 3
Mathis 27 2-9 0-0 0-4 3 1 4
Doucet 35 5-9 14-18 1-8 3 0 24
Cournoyer 4 0-0 0-0 0-1 1 0 0
Goodwin 26 3-4 4-4 0-2 4 1 11
Bess 12 0-0 0-0 0-1 2 0 0
Team 0-3
Totals 200 12-38 24-32 7-37 18 3 49
PCT. -- FG 31.6, FT 75.0. 3-PT. -- 1-6, 16.7 (Goodwin 1-1, Williams 0-2, Mathis 0-3). BL -- 2 (Doucet 2). TO -- 12 (Mathis 4). ST -- 4 (Burton 3).
UALR 13 5 14 14 -- 46
La.-Lafayette 19 9 17 4 -- 49
Officials -- Galloway, Koch, Tobin
Attendance -- 369.
At a glance
Sun Belt ConferenceWomen's tournament
Tuesday's first-round games
At Lafayette, La.
UALR 48, Appalachian St. 47
La.-Lafayette 81, Georgia Southern 64
At Arlington, Texas
Texas-Arlington 74, Texas State 50
South Alabama 82, Arkansas St. 71
Wednesday's second-round games
Louisiana-Lafayette 49, UALR 46
South Alabama 55, Texas-Arlington 47
At Smoothie King Center, New Orleans
Saturday's semifinals
All times Central
Troy vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, 5 p.m.
Coastal Carolina vs. S. Alabama, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday's Championship
Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.
Sports on 03/12/2020