Box Score LITTLE
ROCK
- Senior Britteni Williams recorded
her second double-double in three games while sophomore Taylor Ford scored 13 and tied a career high with seven assists, as
the UALR Trojans (11-10, 6-2 SBC) topped the visiting South Alabama Jaguars
(11-9, 4-4 SBC) by a final of 55-43 Wednesday night at the Jack Stephens Center.
The win was the fourth straight for the Trojans and gets them over the .500 mark
for the first time since their season-opening win over Tulsa.
The Trojans came out of the gates strong on Wednesday,
building a 14-point lead over the first 20 minutes, 29-15, thanks to a stifling
defense that held South Alabama to a season-low 15 points in the first half on
5-of-23 shooting (21.7 percent). UALR, meanwhile, put up 29 points on 13-of-29
shooting (44.8 percent) and out-rebounded the Jaguars 21-to-14 in the opening frame,
helped in large part by Williams' eight boards in the first half.
UALR built an early 11-2 lead after starting the game
by hitting five of its first seven shots from the field. The lead stretched to
10 on a jumper by freshman Kiera Clark
at the 7:21 mark to make it 18-8, and grew as large as 16 when another jumper
by Ford put the score at 26-10 with 2:24 left to go in the half. South Alabama
answered with five straight points, but a three pointer by junior Janette Merriex with 42.0 seconds left
in the half gave the Trojans a 14-point cushion at the intermission.
The Trojans widened their lead to 18 following a 6-0
run midway through the second half. After the Jaguars cut their deficit to 12
on a three pointer by Lauren Walker at the 13:12 mark, UALR answered with six
straight points - three each by Williams and freshman Taylor Gault - to give itself a 42-24 lead with 10:00 left in the contest.
Two free throws by Gault and a steal and lay-in by senior
Marian Kursh pushed the Trojan
advantage to 19 with 6:37 to play. UALR took its biggest lead of the game,
53-32, on two more Gault free throws at the 4:10 mark before South Alabama went
on a 5-0 spurt as part of a larger 11-2 run to close the game.
Gault finished the contest with 13 points, 11 of which
came in the second half. Merriex scored six points and grabbed seven boards,
while UALR's starters outscored the USA starters by a count of 51-28.
Williams secured her second double-double of the season
with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Ford poured in 13 points to go along with seven
assists and six rebounds.
For the game, UALR held the Jaguars to 24.5 percent
shooting from field (13-of-53), including 6-of-23 from three-point range (26.1
percent). The Trojans outscored South Alabama 20-12 in the paint, and parlayed
USA's 15 turnovers into 17 points.
UALR returns to action on Saturday when it takes on
Denver at the Jack Stephens Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
