Ogwumike, Rice’s defense too much for UALR women

Issues with a zone defense continued to plague the University of Arkansas at Little Rock women’s team in its game against Rice on Saturday.

Trying to defend Erica Ogwumike was just as challenging.

The junior guard scored a game-high 21 points and pulled down 19 rebounds as the Owls wiped away an early deficit to beat the Trojans 7965 at the Jack Stephens Center.

Rice (1-2) had four players finish with at least 10 points, with freshman guard Jasmine Smith chipping in with 17 points, including 3 three-pointers. Guards Shani Rainey and Haylee Swayze each added 11 points, but it was Ogwumike at the controls for Rice.

Ogwumike, the Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year and younger sister of WNBA standouts Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike, shot 8 of 11 from the floor, handed out 5 assists and blocked a shot.

“Ogwumike is a good player, and we knew she would be,” UALR Coach Joe Foley said. “[Raeyana DeGray] is probably our best defensive player, but when she got two fouls trying to guard [Ogwumike] and we had to take her out, that really opened things up. If you’re going to be a good team, you’ve got to have a player like that.”

UALR (2-1) also struggled against a 2-3 zone for a third consecutive game. The Trojans overcame Louisiana Tech and Florida Atlantic by forcing a combined 49 turnovers. UALR forced 19 against Rice, but it wasn’t enough.

The Owls finished 29 of 50 (58 percent) from the field, including nine three-pointers. UALR, which got a 19-point effort from sophomore forward Teal Battle, was just 26 of 70 (37 percent) for the game.

Senior forwards Ronjanae DeGray and Raeyana DeGray added 12 and 10 points, respectively. UALR hit only 4 of 13 three-pointers.

Rice started off in a manto-man defense but switched to zone four possessions later after UALR ran out to a quick lead. Both junior Kyra Collier and Raeyana DeGray were forced to sit for much of the opening quarter after picking up two fouls.

“That really hurt us,” Foley said of the duo’s foul trouble. “When we had to take those two out, that’s when they went on their run. It gave them a lot of confidence.”

TENNESSEE-MARTIN 97, ARKANSAS STATE 91, OT

Tennessee-Martin won its third home game Saturday behind a defense that forced 31 turnovers and converted them into 37 points to hold off Arkansas State University.

ASU was limited to 30 made field goals, but the Red Wolves (1-2) stayed in the game by making 30 of 45 free throws (67 percent) after 33 fouls were called on the Skyhawks (3-1).

Tennessee-Martin led by 15 points early in the second quarter and held several leads of 10 or more points, but ASU tied the game or trimmed the margin to a single possession 13 times before being outscored 11-5 in overtime.

The game was tied 86-86 at the end of regulation.

Aundrea Adams scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead Tennessee-Martin. Chelsey Perry also had 21 points for the Skyhawks and Damiah Griffin added 12.

Peyton Martin scored a game-high 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Red Wolves before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Akasha Westbrook scored 16 points for ASU, Morgan Wallace had 13, Payton Tennison added 11 and Jireh Washington chipped in with 10.

SOUTHLAND WOMEN SOUTH ALABAMA 58, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 50

Leading 32-30 at halftime, South Alabama outscored the University of Central Arkansas 13-6 in the third quarter while holding the Sugar Bears to 21.4 percent shooting from the floor in the second half to come away with the victory in front of 325 fans at the Farris Center in Conway.

A three-point play by Alanie Fisher gave UCA a 33-32 lead 40 seconds into the third quarter, but South Alabama would take the lead for good on a layup by India Hall to take a 34-33 lead midway through the quarter.

The lead would continue to build and a jumper by Emerald Hart with nine seconds left in the quarter gave the Jaguars a 4536 advantage. South Alabama led by 15 midway through the fourth quarter.

Damaya Telemarque scored 21 points to lead South Alabama, while Hannah Langhi led UCA with 14 points.

SWAC MEN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 78, ARK.-PINE BLUFF 48

Marcus Bartley scored 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor, all coming from behind the three-point line, to lead four Southern Illinois players with 10 or more points in a victory over the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff at SIU Arena in Carbondale, Ill.

The Salukis (1-2) shot 49.1 percent (28 of 57) from the floor and hit 9 of 22 three-pointers. The Golden Lions shot 31 percent (18 of 58) from the floor and hit just 3 of 25 shots behind the threepoint line. SIU outrebounded UAPB 4332 and held a 28-24 advantage in points in the lane.

Martaveous McKnight led the Golden Lions (0-3) with 11 points, but went just 4-of-17 shooting from the floor, while Marquell Carter added 10 points.

FRIDAY’S LATE MEN’S GAME NO. 6 NEVADA 87, UALR 59

Cody Martin finished with 14 points and 10 assists as No. 6 Nevada defeated the University of Arkansas at Little Rock late Friday night in front of a crowd of 10,273 at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nev.

Cody Martin’s twin brother, Caleb, scored 19 points, Jordan Caroline had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Jazz Johnson added 17 points.

Nevada never trailed, carrying a 20-point advantage into halftime and increasing it to 87-53 with 3:15 left in the game. The Wolf Pack (3-0) shot 53 percent from the field and outrebounded the Trojans 43-36.

Rayjon Tucker led UALR with 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting. Jaizec Lottie added 10 points and added a team-high 9 rebounds for the Trojans.