Box Score HOT SPRINGS, Ark.?The UALR women's basketball team lost 74-54 to Middle Tennessee in the Sun Belt Conference Championship game Tuesday at Summit Arena. The Blue Raiders shot 58.3 percent from the field and recorded ten three-pointer, while the Trojans recorded 43.1 percent from the field.
“I told the team don't take anything from Middle Tennessee, because they played a great game,” said head coach Joe Foley. “I think our kids learned a lot.”
Chastity Reed led the steam with 18 points and four rebounds, while Asriel Rolfe recorded her fourth double figure game with 13 points and also recorded three assists earning her State Farm Player of the Game.
Reed along with Anshel Cooper became the first women's basketball players to earn Sun Belt All-Tournament Team honors.
After UALR won the tip, the Trojans opened with a jumper by Reed followed by a jumper by Brandi Brown for Middle Tennessee tying the score.
Over the next five minutes, UALR out scored the Blue Raiders nine to eight including four points from Reed, a three-pointer by Rolfe, and a layup by Cooper to take the 11-10 lead with 12:42 until the half.
At the 11:41 mark, four straight points by Alysha Clark sparked a 9-0 run by MT to take a 19-11 lead. After a layup by Cooper to cut the lead down to six, Brandi Brown knocked down a three-pointer followed by a jumper by Jackie Pickel to extend the Blue Raider advantage to 24-13 with 7:57 on the clock.
Both teams exchanged points over the next minute and half with Megan Williams knocking down five points for the Trojans, before a three-pointer by Kim Sitzmann sparked a 7-0 run by UALR to cut the MT lead to 28-25 at the 3:12 mark.
After a three-pointer by Brown at the 2:51 mark, UALR forced three-straight MT turnovers while scoring four straight points to bring the score to 31-29 with 28.6 on the clock.
A last second three-pointer by Anne Marie Lanning gave the Blue Raiders with 34-29 half-time lead.
Middle Tennessee opened the second half with a three-pointer by Chelsia Lymon, before UALR answered with a layup by Marian Kursh from Reed to bring the score to 37-31 in MT's favor.
Over the next four minutes, the Blue Raiders out scored the Trojans 11-10 with six points coming from three-pointer by Rolfe to advance their lead to 48-41 with 14:42 remaining.
Lymon scored seven straight points for MT to UALR's jumpers by Reed and Rolfe to keep the ten point Blue Raider lead with 10:59 remaining.
At the 9:22 mark, MT scored 11 straight points including six from Brown to bring the score to 64-47 in the Blue Raiders favor with 6:08 on the clock. MT extended their lead to 20 with a three-pointer by Brown at the 4:50 mark.
Rolfe recorded a layup at the 2:50 for the Trojans first field goal in six and a half minutes followed by a jumper by Megan Williams to bring the score to 67-51 MT.
In the remaining 1:50, the Blue Raiders recorded six points to UALR's three-pointer by Reed to win 74-54.
