James, Dawn Combine for 40 Points in Win Over Jags

LITTLE ROCK – The Trojan women's basketball team took an early lead and only kept building it in a dominant victory at the Jack Stephens Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
Shanity James scored 22 points and Alexius Dawn added 18 more as the Trojans shot 52 percent from the field in a 74-43 victory over South Alabama.
 
Little Rock (10-11, 8-4 Sun Belt Conference) scored 43 points in the first half and held a 28-point lead at the break over South Alabama (9-12, 5-7). The Trojans shot an impressive 65.4 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes while holding the Jaguars to just 27.3 percent shooting.
 
Dawn's 3-point shot started falling early in the game, and the senior finished with four on the night to tie a season high.
 
Monique Townson finished the game with a career-high eight assists, and also dropped in 6 points. James led the way for Little Rock with five rebounds, and nine different players had at least one rebound.
 
Keanna Keys was excellent off the bench, making all three of her field goal attempts and finishing 4 of 4 from the free-throw line to tie a season high with 10 points.
 
The win was Little Rock's fifth straight overall and fourth straight win against South Alabama. The team has also now won six straight at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
With Louisiana on a bye, Little Rock now sits just one game out of second place in the conference standings behind the Cajuns. The Trojans and Cajuns will play on Saturday in Lafayette, La.
 
Little Rock's defense was the star of the first quarter, as the Trojans held the Jaguars to just 9 points in the period on 36.4 percent shooting. The defense also helped force seven South Alabama turnovers as the Trojan offense built a 20-9 lead. Dawn had two 3-pointers in the first quarter and led all scorers with 9 points – as many as South Alabama's entire team – after 10 minutes.
 
Dawn would fall off that pace slightly in the second quarter, adding 5 points while South Alabama scored 6 in the second. The Trojans did not led the Jaguars score for the first seven minutes of the period as they went on a 15-0 run and built their lead well over 20 points.
 
South Alabama cut into the Trojan lead during the third quarter, but Little Rock finished the period on a 9-0 run to extend the lead to 62-33 heading into the fourth. The Trojans outscored the Jaguars 12-10 in the fourth quarter while emptying the bench to get the 31-point win.
 
For the second consecutive Saturday, Little Rock used 13 of its 14 players in the contest as both DeGray twins, Amber Landing, Autummn Williams and Alivia Huell all had at least two minutes each.
 
Keanna Keys picked up her 250th rebound during the game and Kaitlyn Pratt got her 200th career defensive rebound.
 
With a four-game homestand now behind it, Little Rock opens up a four-game road trip on Thursday. The Trojans travel to Monroe, La., to take on the ULM Warhawks with a 5:15 p.m. tipoff.