STATE DIVISION I ROUNDUPS
SOUTHLAND WOMEN CENTRAL ARKANSAS 64, SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 60
Maggie Proffitt scored a career-high 32 points and Central Arkansas wrapped up the top seed and a berth in the semifinals of the Southland Conference Tournament with a victory Saturday at the University Center in Hammond, La.
With their fifth consecutive victory, the Sugar Bears (24-3, 14-2 Southland Conference) tied a school record for victories. Southeastern Louisiana (4-23, 3-13), with its fourth consecutive loss, saw hopes for a postseason berth end.
UCA managed to hold a 29-14 edge at half, but the Lady Lions came back in the third quarter to tie the game at 40-40 entering the last quarter.
Southeastern Louisiana led by three early in the quarter, but five consecutive points from Proffitt put the Sugar Bears ahead with 6:50 to play, and they did not trail again.
Nanna Pool had 25 points and 9 rebounds for Southeastern Louisiana in her final home game, while fellow senior Erica Hernandez added 15 points.
Taylor Baudoin added 11 points and Kendara Watts had 10 and 5.
SWAC WOMEN GRAMBLING STATE 67, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 49
Shakyla Hill scored a game-high 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds as Grambling State blew past Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Fredrick C. Hobdy Arena in Grambling, La.
Bre’nae Andrews scored 15 points and John’ea Thompson had 8 points and 8 rebounds for Grambling State (14-12, 11-4 SWAC), which outscored UAPB (720, 4-12) 26-8 in the third quarter after being tied 30-30 at halftime. The Lady Tigers shot just 28 of 76 (37 percent) from the field but outrebounded the Lady Lions 50-40 and forced 23 turnovers.
Neither team led by more than five points in a cold-shooting first half, but Hill’s layup with 9:53 left in the third quarter started a 14-0 run for Grambling State. A jumper by Attirah Munir at the 6:34 mark got UAPB to within 44-32, but the Lady Lions managed just one more field goal for the remainder of the quarter and got no closer than 58-45 the rest of the way.
Niya Head and Ajia Richardson had 10 points each for the Lady Lions, who hit just 19 of 56 shots, including 2 of 14 from the three-point line. Diamond Richardson finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
SOUTHLAND MEN SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 75, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 56
After scoring more than 82 points a game in Southland Conference play, Central Arkansas scored less than 60 points for the fourth time this season, losing to Southeastern Louisiana at the University Center in Hammond, La.
The Bears (7-18, 6-9 Southland) were held to 4 of 17 from three-point range and just 14 of 24 free throws as the Lions (9-19, 7-8) won for the seventh time in their last nine games.
After the Bears jumped to an early seven-point lead, the Lions rallied with a 23-6 run to take control of the game and eventually expanded the lead to as many as 24 in the second half.
Jordan Howard finished with 11 points for Central Arkansas, and Mathieu Kamba had 10 and added 7 rebounds.
Zay Jackson had 21 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists for Southeastern, and JaMichael Hawkins added 15 points.
SWAC MEN ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 53, GRAMBLING STATE 51
Charles Jackson scored 15 points off the bench as Arkansas-Pine Bluff held on to beat Grambling State on Saturday night at Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center in Grambling, La., snapping a four-game losing streak.
Jackson was 5 of 10 from the field, including 3 three-pointers, and made both of his free throws. Trent Whiting added 14 points for UAPB (7-23, 5-11 SWAC), which hit 42 percent from the field overall — including just 4 of 20 three-pointers — and 62 percent from the foul line.
The Golden Tigers had a 26-23 lead at halftime and held on in the second half as Grambling State outscored them 28-27.
Grambling State made 14 of 42 (33.3 percent) from the field overall and 19 of 32 (59.4 percent) from the line.
Deonte Hearns scored 23 points for the Tigers (6-21, 3-12), who have lost 11 games in a row.