UAPB women foiled on road
Just 4 more minutes separated the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff women’s basketball team from leaving Coral Gables, Fla., with a win Sunday.
UAPB led North Carolina A&T State 56-52 with 4:07 remaining thanks to Maori Davenport’s big baskets down the stretch.
But the Aggies were strong in the clutch and stifled the Lady Lions with their defense to climb back and pull out a 64-59 win in the Miami Thanksgiving Classic.
UAPB (1-4) went 0-2 in the days after the holiday, also losing to the Ivy League’s Columbia University 95-57 on Friday.
The coast-to-coast road swing the Lady Lions (1-4) are taking might get tougher tonight with a game at Southern Methodist University.
Tipoff at Moody Coliseum in Dallas is scheduled for 7 p.m., with the game streaming on ESPN+ and
audio available on SMU’s mobile app and thetruthstation.com (KAAM-AM 770 in Dallas).
That will be followed by three games in California starting Saturday: two at the Raising the B.A.R. Invitational in Berkeley and another in San Francisco.
SMU defeated UAPB 8674 last December and is off to a 4-2 start this season.
The Mustangs played 17th-ranked Baylor University tough but lost 58-55 on Nov. 15, only to win three in a row since then.
They most recently defeated Oral Roberts University 72-55 on Saturday behind Chantae Embry’s 20 points and 7 rebounds.
Embry is SMU’s leading scorer at 15.3 points per game. Jasmine Smith and Savannah Wilkinson follow at 10.5 and 10 per game.
The Mustangs will follow the Lady Lions to the Raising the B.A.R. Invitational after tonight’s game.
UAPB is still looking for its first win over a Division I opponent this season, having only beaten Philander Smith College.
The Lady Lions came close Nov. 10 at UA Little Rock, losing 60-56 to the Trojans.
They took command thanks to two Davenport jumpers in the paint, leading 54-50 with 4:54 to go. Davenport, who finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, had another bucket with 4:07 left to make it 56-52.
NCAT tied it up with 2:30 left and went ahead on two Maleia Bracone free throws with 1:33 left.
Laila Acox scored off her own steal and made another basket in transition to put the Aggies ahead 6256 with 57 seconds to go.
Jelissa Reese also scored 13 points for UAPB.
Reese is the third-leading scorer on the team at 8.4 points per game, trailing Davenport (11.2) and Coriah Beck (8.6).
Reese also had 12 points and 7 rebounds against Columbia.
The UAPB men’s team will resume action Wednesday at the U.S. Air Force Academy.