Foley says nice ‘start’ for Trojans
UALR 78, LA.-LAFAYETTE 43
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock women’s basketball team ended its four-game losing streak with a 78-43 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette in the Sun Belt Conference opener Friday night at the Jack Stephens Center.
It was the largest margin of victory in a conference opener for the Trojans (4-8) since the program joined the Sun Belt in 1999, and it was the largest conference victory since beating Louisiana-Monroe 92-47 on Jan. 26 of last season.
“It just tells me it’s a start,” said UALR Coach Joe Foley, whose two previous teams that started 3-8 went to the WNIT and NCAA Tournament. “You’ve got to build trust, and one game doesn’t build it.”
Louisiana-Lafayette kept UALR from earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament last season by beating the Trojans 79-71 in the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals.
“We felt like we owed them one for putting us out of the tournament last year,” said junior forward Ronjanae DeGray, who finished with 16 points and five rebounds. “So it’s nice to go ahead and start the conference play with a win.”
UALR built a 40-17 halftime lead by shooting 51.4 percent from the field and playing stout defense.
The Trojans started the game 4 of 4 from the floor to lead 9-4 with 7:19 left in the first period. Senior guard Monique Townson began the game by making a three-pointer from the right wing. On the
next possession, sophomore forward Anna Hurlburt tipped a Louisiana-Lafayette pass and corralled it for an easy layup.
Hurlburt’s steal foreshadowed the Ragin’ Cajuns’ struggle to penetrate the Trojans’ defense.
Louisiana-Lafayette had three shot clock violations during the first period and turned the ball over eight times in the first 10 minutes. UALR scored eight points off those turnovers, including another Hurlburt steal with 2:37 left that led to a layup by junior guard Kira Shepard to give the Trojans a 15-8 lead.
Louisiana-Lafayette struggled to drive toward the basket and had to settle for midto-long range shots, oftentimes shot in desperation to avoid a shot-clock violation.
With 5:25 left in the first quarter, Louisiana-Lafayette senior forward Simone Fields was stopped from entering the paint, veered to the baseline and lifted a shot that grazed the front rim and turned into another UALR fastbreak.
Louisiana-Lafayette was 3-of-11 shooting (27.3 percent) during the second quarter, and the Ragin’ Cajuns finished the game 15 of 44 (34 percent).
DeGray was 5-of-6 shooting for 10 points in the first half. Her sister, junior guard Raeyana, had a game-high 17 points.
The Trojans forced 14 turnovers by halftime, and Louisiana-Lafayette senior forward Nekia Jones scored her team’s only points in the half’s final five minutes with a three-pointer to make it 35-17.
UALR entered the game with the eighth-lowest threepoint shooting percentage in the nation (23.5 percent), and the team was 3 of 12 (25 percent) Friday night.
“It’s not been there by any means,” Foley said. “You’ve got to be confident, ready to take it … and know when to take them.”
Junior forward Yanina Inkina made a three-pointer with 11 seconds left in the third to put UALR up 62-31. A media timeout followed, and a school volunteer handed a spectator what was announced as a “three-point T-shirt.” Were 3-pointers that rare? “I don’t know,” laughed Townson, who was 1 of 3 from beyond the arc and finished with 17 points. “I guess that’s just something they do with the fans.”
UALR will next host Louisiana-Monroe on Sunday at 2 p.m.