Box Score
DENVER,
Colo.—A last second block by Janette Merriex and rebound by Britteni
Williams allowed the UALR women's basketball team to win the team's
ninth-straight contest over Denver with a 53-51 victory Saturday. The Trojans
improve to 5-9 overall and 1-1 in Sun Belt Conference action.
Three Trojans scored in
double-figures as Kiera Clark recorded
a career-high of 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Merriex knocked down
ten points as well as Marian Kursh. Britteni Williams led the team in rebounds with eight.
UALR held DU's leading
scorer Kaetlyn Murdoch to eight points as the Pioneers was led by Emiko Smith
with 21.
Denver
opened the first half on a 6-0 run, before a jumper by Merriex off a DU offensive
foul gave UALR the team's first field goal at the 16:26 mark.
The
Pioneers scored four-straight points, before a free throw by Kursh followed by
a layup by Clark sparked an 8-3 run by the Trojans to cut the DU lead to 13-10
with 8:03 until the half.
Both
teams exchanged points, before the Trojans scored four-straight points on
jumpers by Taylor Gault and Merriex
to bring the DU lead to 18-16 with 4:44 on the clock.
After
a jumper by the Pioneers, UALR held DU scoreless throughout the remaining 4:25
of the half while scoring seven-straight points including a last second free
throw by Britteni Williams to give the Trojans the 21-20 half-time lead.
Both
teams exchanged points to open the second half, before four-straight points by the
Pioneers regained a 25-23 edge at the 15:38 mark.
A
three-pointer by Merriex with 13:57 remaining gave UALR a 28-27 lead, before
Denver answered back with a layup.
At
the 13:22 mark, a three-pointer by Taylor
Ford sparked a 7-0 run by the Trojans including a block by Hannah Fohne and a steal by Clark to
gain the team's largest lead of the game 35-29.
Four-straight
points by DU cut the lead to 35-33, before back-to-back layup and ones by Kursh
and Clark stretched the UALR advantage to 41-33 with 9:18 remaining.
Both
teams scored including a three-pointer by DU, before a jumper by Clark followed
by a layup by Ka'Nesheia Cobbins gave
UALR the 49-40 lead at the 6:10 mark.
The
Trojans extended the team's edge to 11, before the Pioneers scored on a free
throw and a three-point play by Smith with 2:06 on the clock to the lead to
53-46.
After
a UALR turnover, a three-pointer by Smith followed by a layup by Maiya Michel
for the Pioneers cut the Trojan lead to 53-51 with 49.9 seconds remaining.
With
20.6 on the clock, UALR missed a jumper allowing the Pioneers to take a last
second shot that was blocked by Merriex and rebounded by Britteni Williams as
the Trojans held on for the 53-51 win.
UALR
hosts non-conference opponent Nicholls State on Wednesday, January 4 at The
Jack Stephens Center. Tip-off is set for
7 p.m.
