Central Arkansas Wins Seventh Straight
Central Arkansas 82, Sam Houston State 63
CONWAY, Ark. - Central Arkansas took control early on Saturday with runs of 11-0 and 15-3 in the first half to build a commanding lead against Sam Houston State, then stretched it to as many as 25 in the second half and cruised to an 82-63 win over the Bearkats in the Farris Center.
With the win, the Sugar Bears (17-5, 7-2) collect their seventh straight victory and remain at least tied atop the Southland's East Division standings pending the result of Saturday night's game between Stephen F. Austin and Lamar. It was the fourth straight loss for the Bearkats (5-15, 2-6). UCA has now won five of the seven by double digits and its average margin of victory during the win streak is 13.7.
The Sugar Bears came out hot early, scoring 11 straight points in a span of 4:30 to take a 10-point lead, then followed it up with a 15-3 run over a five-minute span later in the half as they built a 39-21 lead with 2:10 to play in the first.
The Bearkats cut the lead to 13, but that would be the closest they'd get as UCA junior center Megan Moss hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key just before the buzzer to send the Sugar Bears into the locker room with a 45-29 advantage.
Three minutes into the second half, after a 3-pointer from freshman forward Westin Taylor and a steal and layup from freshman forward Megan Herbert, the Sugar Bears had built the lead to 21. The margin fluctuated between 23 and 17 for much of the half, with the UCA lead peaking at 25 with 7:19 to play on a pair of free throws from Herbert.
SHSU was able to shave 10 points off its deficit, getting back within 15 with just more than four minutes left, but it was far too late to make a difference. Four points from freshman center Chantel Moss in the final minute put UCA ahead 21 again before SHSU's Ray Alexander hit a pair of free throws with 20 seconds left to close out the scoring.
UCA once again held a decided rebounding advantage, getting 59 rebounds to SHSU's 42. For the week, the Sugar Bears outrebounded their opponents by 35. The Sugar Bears were also aided once again by free throws - hitting 23 to the Bearkats' 16. Over the last two games the Sugar Bears have outscored the opposition 58-23 at the line.
Herbert had 20 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Sugar Bears, extending her double-double streak to 22 games and putting her a step closer to the second-longest streak in NCAA history at any level. It was her 13th game of the year with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.
For the week, she averaged 20 points and 14.5 rebounds and at 14.3 per game for the year is on pace to break UCA's records for most rebounds and highest rebounding average in a season. She needs to average just 10.4 the rest of the way to break Checola Seals' 19 year-old record for total rebounds set in 1990-91 when UCA was an NAIA school. Herbert has 314 with seven games to play and needs 73 to pass Seals' mark of 386.
At 14.3 rebounds per game, Herbert needs to average just 7.1 per game the rest of the way to eclipse Seals' record of 12.5 per game set that same season. She is on pace to have the fourth-highest rebound total in Southland history, the third-highest rebound average and the highest in 20 years, going back to 1990 when Northwestern State's Pam Hudson set both records with 15 rebounds per game and 436 total. She is also tied for the fifth-highest scoring average in UCA history and second-highest in the school's NCAA history.
Freshman forward Desiree' Rogers notched her third double-double of the season, putting up 15 points and 10 rebounds. Taylor added 11 and connected three times from outside the arc, giving her 55 made 3-pointers for the season - the 10th-highest total in UCA history. She needs 11 more to move into the top five and 18 more to break the record.
Sophomore guard Nakeia Guiden tied her career high with eight assists to go with eight points and five rebounds. Freshman guard Micah Rice also added six points, five rebounds and six assists.
Chanice Smith came off the bench to lead Sam Houston with 19 points. Alexander added 14. Brittany Brooks and Whitney Smith, the Bearkats' leading scorers coming in at a combined 26.1 points per game, were held to a total of 13 on 5-of-26 shooting.
After playing three of their last four at home, the Sugar Bears will take back to the road on Wednesday to do battle with UTSA, a team UCA has yet to beat since joining the league. UCA will then return home next Saturday for their WBCA Pink Zone game, a breast cancer awareness benefit game, against Northwestern State.
Lamar 92, Stephen F. Austin 87
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Jenna Plumley tied a career high with 26 points to lead Lamar to a 92-87 conference victory at Stephen F. Austin on Saturday.
Darika Hill added 24 points and 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the season as the Lady Cardinals (18-5, 8-1) rallied from a 14-point deficit to take sole possession of first place overall in the conference.
"This was just a great basketball game between two good teams," Lamar coach Larry Tidwell said. "We stepped up big when we needed to."
The Lady Cardinals trailed 44-30 with 6:05 remaining in the first half, but rallied to cut the deficit to six points (51-45) at halftime. Plumley stepped up in the second half, scoring 19 points after intermission.
Kalis Loyd had 13 points and nine rebounds for Lamar, while Ashley Crawford and Trashanna Smith added 10 points apiece in the win.
Whitney Cormier led Stephen F. Austin with 25 points. Tammara Marion had 17 points and Ebony Alexander finished with a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds for Stephen F. Austin (11-9, 6-3).
With Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (14-7, 6-2) suffering an upset loss at Nicholls, Lamar is the only team with one loss in conference play.
The Lady Cardinals are idle until 2:05 p.m. Saturday when they host Texas State at the Montagne Center in the annual Pink Zone Game. Al fans are encouraged to wear pink in an effort to raise awareness of the fight against breast cancer.
For ticket information, call (409) 880-1715 or log on to www.lamarcardinals.com.
UTSA 61, Southeastern Louisiana 49
HAMMOND, La. - Sophomore Whitney York posted her three 20-point performance of the season with a game-high 23 points, while freshman Whitney Wright added 15 points off the bench to lead UTSA past Southeastern Louisiana, 61-49, in conference action Saturday at the University Center.
"Whitney Wright had a great game off the bench the today," head Rae Rippetoe-Blair said. "She was huge for us making shots. It's always good to see a freshman step up and contribute to the team. We also played excellent defense today, especially in the first half. I told our team yesterday in practice that we needed to win road games in order to compete for a conference championship and they responded today."
The Roadrunners improved to 12-9 on the season and 6-2 in league action, while the Lady Lions fell to 9-13 overall and 3-6 in conference action.
York's 23-point outing came on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor and was near perfect from the free throw line going making 11 of her 12 attempts. Wright made the most of her 21 minutes of action with a career-high 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. Junior Ashleigh Franklin grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and dished out four assists.
The Runners made a season-high 89.5 percent from the free throw line on 17-of-19 and outscored the Lady Lions 28-16 in the paint area.
Zevy Ivory led Southeastern Louisiana with a team-best 21 points and matched Franklin with 10 boards.
Freshman Whitney Wright converted a three-point play to put UTSA up 26-21 with 16:55 left in the second half, but the Southeastern Louisiana's Kelli Jenkins knotted the game at 29-all with her 15-footer at the 11-minute mark.
The Roadrunners and Lady Lions traded baskets back and forth over the next four minutes, until the Runners increased their lead to 44-38 with seven quick points highlighted by sophomore Cierra Martin's three-ball from the right corner with 7:51 remaining. Wright's 3-pointer from the right corner upped UTSA's lead to nine (51-42) with three minutes and change left on the clock.
However, Ivory's second 3-pointer of the game made it a four-point game (53-49) with 1:36 showing on the clock, but the Roadrunner ice the game going 6-for-6 from the free throw line to hold on for the 12-point victory.
York opened up the game scoring seven of the first nine UTSA points to give the Roadrunners the early 9-5 advantage with 9:58 to play in the first half. Kasia Gawor connected on a 3-pointer from the top of the key to reclaim a 10-9 lead past the midway point of the frame.
York continued to carry the Runners offense with her 11th point of the stanza for the one-point edge (11-10) at the 5-minute mark. Franklin connected on a driving layup and a running one-hander that capped off an 8-6 run that gave UTSA the 19-16 halftime lead.
UTSA returns home for a conference matchup against Central Arkansas Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.
UT Arlington 86, Northwestern State 82
NATCHITOCHES, La. - It was a team effort that led UT Arlington to an 86-82 win over Northwestern State Saturday afternoon at the Prather Coliseum. The Mavericks improved to 9-12 overall and 4-4 in league action.
After starting off the first half with four consecutive turnovers, UT Arlington took care of the ball and committed only six the rest of the half. The Mavs finished the first half shooting 47.1 percent from the floor and Kiarra Shofner led the team with 13 points.
Shofner gave the Mavs their first lead of the game with a pair of freebies and Tamara Simmons put UT Arlington up by two after a pull up jumper from the elbow at the 8:10 mark.
The Mavericks silenced the Lady Demons, going on a 16-5 run to lead 37-25 with 1:10 left in the first stanza. Nicole Terral send the Mavs into the locker rooms with a 40-28 advantage after knocking down a three with 34 seconds on the clock.
UTA maintained a 10 point lead in the opening minutes of the second half until Lyndzee Greene hit from three-point range, cutting the deficit to seven with 14:22 left to play.
With Meghan Nelson and Shalyn Martin sitting on the bench with foul trouble, Shofner and Simmons went to work bringing the Mavericks back on top by 11. In the final 2:43 of the game, Northwestern State went on a 12-6 run to come within three with 17 seconds left to play.
The Lady Demons were forced to foul the Mavericks and UTA was able to close out the game, knocking down their free throws.
Shofner finished the game with a game high 23 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, including 1-of-3 from behind the arc and 10-of-12 from the line. Despite foul trouble Nelson poured in 21 points, 19 of those points coming in the second half.
UT Arlington will be at Texas Hall for the next two games when they face McNeese State on Wednesday, February 10 at 7 p.m. followed by a meeting with UTSA Saturday at 2 p.m.
Nicholls 61, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 58
THIBODAUX, La. - The Nicholls State University women's basketball team had five players score in double figures and came from behind to take down second place Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 61-58, on Saturday afternoon in Stopher Gym.
The game's theme was a 'Black and Gold-Out' that encouraged all fans attending the game to wear their New Orleans Saints apparel in an effort to support the franchise's quest for the Super Bowl XLIV Championship.
"It was a total team effort out there today. We were undersized and did not have the athleticism Texas A&M-Corpus Christi] had on the court, but everyone stepped up their game to get this win," said Head Coach DoBee Plaisance. "I'm so proud of our girls. The ball bounced our way today."
Leading Nicholls in the game was junior Ricshanda Bickham and sophomore Jasmine Hoskins with 12 points each. Bickham also contributed a game-best four assists, while Hoskins led the team in rebounds with eight.
The Colonels (4-17, 1-8 Southland) out-rebounded the Islanders (14-7, 6-2) in the contest 43-to-38, and held the advantage in points in the paint, 28-to-20. Also, for the first time this season, Nicholls' bench out-produced its opponent, scoring 22 off the pine to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's 16.
Nicholls led for the majority of the first half until Texas A&M-Corpus Christi established a nine-point advantage (18-9) with 11 minutes left in the half. The Islanders then went on to outscore the Colonels 33-9 the rest of the way in the first period to take a 31-27 lead into locker room at the midway point.
The Islanders increased their lead to as many as nine (38-29) early on in the second half, but the Colonels went on a 10-1 run to tie the game at 39 apiece with 12 minutes left in the game.
Both teams traded lead changes until junior Jamia Akins connected on a three-point basket in the corner via the Alisha Allen assist to give the Colonels the 46-43 lead with less than 10 minutes to play. Nicholls would never relinquish its lead for the remainder of the game.
After the Akins trey, the Colonels got a stop on the opposite end, and on the ensuing offensive possession, increased its lead to five on an Allen jumper. Nicholls built its lead to as many as eight points - 60-52 - with 4:16 left, and despite a furious rally by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the closing minutes, the Colonels held on to get the win.
The Islanders had two players score in double figures with Deziree Green leading the way with a game-high 16.
Nicholls will be back in action next Wednesday at Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Texas. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m.
McNeese State 77, Texas State 70
JENNINGS, La. - Sophomore Candace LaCombe scored a game-high 24 points and senior Kiara Johnson and sophomore Ja'Niqua Kendrix recorded double-doubles in a 77-70 McNeese State conference victory over Texas State here Saturday at Jennings High School.
Lacombe was 7-of-18 from the field including five three-pointers. LaCombe also made five of 10 free throws. Johnson recorded her fourth career double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds while Kendrix recorded her second career double-double with a career high 12 points and tied her season high with 11 rebounds.
McNeese jumped out to a 7-0 lead before the Bobcats would score their first points of the game. After Texas State took a quick two point lead with 9:20 left in the first half, McNeese retook the lead and held a 37-32 halftime lead.
Texas State would cut into the lead and took another one point lead in the second half (44-43) before Kendrix put the Cowgirls up for good on a jumper with 14:33 left in the game. The Cowgirls held their largest lead of the game of 14 points with 4:59 left. Texas State attempted to make a comeback but the Cowgirls held the Bobcats off by scoring five of their last seven points from the free throw line.
McNeese (6-15, 2-6) will travel to UT Arlington Wednesday night then will return to Burton Coliseum on Saturday, Feb. 13 for its annual "Pink Zone" game.