HEATING UP
Westbrook, Lampo notch double-doubles
A number of local graduates were in action Thursday as conference play heats up in college basketball.
Two area graduates earned double-doubles for their teams on Thursday, but several local student-athletes are coping with team slumps in the middle of the season.
Akasha Westbrook, Arkansas State
The Arkansas State women’s basketball team defeated Georgia Southern 71-62 Thursday at Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro, Ga., behind the second career double-double by Malvern’s Akasha Westbrook, who finished the night with 13 points and 10 rebounds. She scored nine points and grabbed seven boards in the second half as the Red Wolves (7-7, 2-2 in the Sun Belt Conference) pulled away from the Eagles (3-11, 0-3) down the stretch.
Four Arkansas State women finished the game in double figures and the bench provided a spark with 33 points. The Red Wolves made the Eagles pay for their miscues with 25 points off of turnovers.
The Red Wolves held the Eagles to just a 28.1 shooting percentage on the night, but the Eagles made eight 3-pointers through the night to keep the score close throughout much of the contest. Arkansas State shot 37.9 percent from the field and made 16 of 24 free throws, including 8 of 14 in the second half.
Westbrook had 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting and eight rebounds in 36 minutes during a 76-62 home win Dec. 29 against Louisiana-Monroe (3-9, 0-1) at First National Bank Arena. She also had 12 points and eight rebounds in a 77-75 loss to Louisiana (6-8, 1-1) two days later. Westbrook averages 13 points in 30.5 minutes per game, both team highs.
Arkansas State has another road game today at Georgia State (4-10, 0-3) in Atlanta at 11 a.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3.
Kellie Lampo, Harding
Jessieville High School graduate Kellie Lampo recorded her first collegiate double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds in a
77-76 loss by Harding (5-8, 1-4 in Great American Conference play) to Southern Nazarene Thursday in Bethany, Okla.
The result gave Southern Nazarene (5-5,
3-3) its sixth straight win at home. Freshman Carissa Caples gave Harding a 76-75 lead with a layup, but two free throws with six seconds remaining gave the hosts the win.
Harding had not played since an 87-72 win over over Montana State-Billings on Dec. 17 during the Oahu Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Lady Bisons made the Division II Final Four last season.
Southern Nazarene marked Lampo’s second start of the season. She averages 9.8 points, third-most on the team, and 4.8 rebounds in 18.2 minutes per game.
Harding plays at Oklahoma Baptist (6-5,
1-4) at 1 p.m. today.
Raven Northcross-Baker, Arkansas
Malvern graduate Raven Northcross-Baker the Arkansas women’s basketball team (10-5, 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference) were on the wrong side of a 111-69 thrashing Thursday at the hands of the defending national runners-up from Mississippi State (16-0, 2-0) in Starkville, Miss.
Northcross-Baker had eight points in 19 points. She finished with nine points in 28 minutes Sunday as Arkansas survived 73-72 at home against Ole Miss (10-4, 0-1) to open SEC play.
The transfer junior from Chipola College in Florida added 14 points in 21 minutes in a 79-62 home win over Grambling State (3-8) on Dec. 28. She is averaging 7.3 points in 20 minutes per game this season for the Razorbacks.
Arkansas will welcome Alabama (11-4, 1-1) to Bud Walton Arena on Sunday at 3 p.m. Alabama picked up a road win at Florida (8-7, 0-2) on Thursday.
Andre Jones, Little Rock
Malvern’s Andre Jones and the Little Rock Trojans (4-12, 1-2 in the Sun Belt) continued to slump Thursday with a 73-64 loss to Georgia State
(10-6, 1-2) in Atlanta. He scored eight points on
4-for-13 shooting, 30.8 percent, and five rebounds in 26 minutes.
Jones made 5 of 12 shots to score 13 points in 30 minutes in a 77-63 loss to Louisiana (13-3, 3-0) on Dec. 29 at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock. The Trojans bounced back with a 71-62 win at home on Sunday over Louisiana-Monroe (7-7, 1-2). Jones shot just 2-for-4 for six points in 21 minutes.
His scoring average for the season has decreased from 13 points per game to 10.9. Jones is still the team’s leading scorer, followed by Anthony Black’s 8.3 points per game. The Trojans are in Statesboro, Ga., today to face Georgia Southern (11-5, 2-1) at 4 p.m.
Exavian Christon, Louisiana Tech
The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (9-7) and Hot Springs alum Exavian Christon fell to 0-3 in Conference USA Thursday as UT-San Antonio (9-7, 2-1) hit a contested floater in traffic with one second on the clock to down the Bulldogs 78-76 inside the Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, La.
Christon started three games in a row after starting guard Jalen Harris requested a transfer from the university. The Hot Springs product shot 2-for-6 for seven points and two rebounds in 18 minutes Thursday.
Anthony Duruji shot 3-for-8 for seven points in 22 minutes Thursday after starting in place of Christon. Duruji shot 1-for-5 and scored two points in 27 minutes a week ago when Louisiana Tech lost 78-65 on the road at Marshall (11-4, 2-0) in Huntington, W.V.
Christon shot 2-for-3 for four points in 18 minutes in the loss to Marshall. He started and shot 3-for-4 for seven points in 20 minutes as the Bulldogs lost another nail-biter 69-68 at Western Kentucky (10-5, 2-0) on Dec. 28 in Bowling Green, Ky. Christon is averaging 4.6 points, four field goal attempts and 15.4 minutes per game this season.
The Bulldogs are at home again today at 6 p.m. to face UTEP (6-9, 1-2).