Lady Lions’ miscues lead to home loss
Monday night’s low-scoring women’s basketball game at H.O. Clemmons Arena came down to the final moments, but the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff couldn’t finish the comeback.
UAPB never led in a 7370 loss to Bethune-Cookman, the Lady Lions’ first SWAC home loss this season. Coach Dawn Thornton said she felt the Lady Lions were prepared for Bethune-Cookman’s defense but didn’t execute well enough.
“We didn’t value the ball late in the stretch,” Thornton said. “Missed, I mean, how many layups? Didn’t take care of the ball, hit layups, and then also, from the free throw line. We were 42 percent from the free throw line, and that’s tough. Anytime you shooting 42 percent from the free throw line, you can guarantee that you won’t win a basketball game.”
UAPB (8-10, 3-2 SWAC) shot 38.9 percent from the field, while Bethune shot 35.5 percent. The Lady Lions made eight 3-pointers to the Lady Wildcats’ six but made just 6 of 14 free throws. Bethune shot 13 of 26 from the line.
Second-chance points also played a big role for Bethune-Cookman (12-6, 3-2). The Lady Wildcats collected 24 offensive rebounds while allowing 17 to UAPB. Bethune-Cookman scored 24 second-chance points to UAPB’s 12.
Thornton said Bethune-Cookman’s guards are good rebounders, and UAPB didn’t do a good enough job against them.
“When we’re in those types of positions, you’ve got to make sure that you’re taking care of the basketball, doing the things that you need to do,” Thornton said. “Coming up with those loose balls, coming up with the 50-50 balls, diving on the floor. Those types of things we’ve got to make sure that we take advantage of, and we’ve got to do that.”
Center Kayla Clark and guard O’Mariyah Tucker led Bethune-Cookman with a pair of 14-point double-doubles. Clark had 19 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards, while Tucker had 12 rebounds, 5 on offense. Kerrighan Dunn scored 13 points, and Karianna Woods finished with 12.
Zaay Green led UAPB with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Maya Peat scored 11 points with 7 blocks, and Coriah Beck had 10 points. Maori Davenport collected 10 rebounds with 4 blocks.
Bethune-Cookman led 4-0 early, but Peat hit a pair of shots to tie it. The Lady Wildcats retook the lead with a 14-5 run and led the rest of the game. UAPB cut the deficit to 47-46 when Demetria Shephard hit a 3-pointer with 3 minutes left in the third quarter, but Bethune answered.
With 1:18 to go in the third, Woods scored while drawing a foul against Shephard, who was called for a technical foul after the play. Woods completed the 3-point play, then McDonald made 1 of 2 free throws for the technical. The Lady Wildcats went on to lead 58-48 after the third quarter.
UAPB had a chance in the final moments of the fourth. Beck hit a 3-pointer to make it a one-possession game, then Jelissa Reese stole the ball from the Lady Wildcats on the resulting inbounds play. Woods stole it right back, and UAPB couldn’t foul before time expired.