Box Score LITTLE ROCK - The
Trojans used the three-pointer early to create distance in the first half and
rode senior Janette Merriex's hot
hand in the second as UALR (9-1) downed Tulsa (3-7) 78-51 Tuesday night (Dec.
18) at the Jack Stephens Center.
UALR hit 26-55 from the field (47.3 percent) while holding
Tulsa to only 16-50 (32 percent). The Trojans held a slim 38-37 advantage in
rebounds.
Individually, Merriex led all scorers with 22 points on 7-10
shooting from the field, all from behind the arc. She narrowly missed the
double-double with a career-best nine boards.
Sophomore Taylor Gault
added 20, including a 7-10 mark from the charity stipe. Classmate Taylor Ford added nine points and a
game-best seven assists.
Tulsa was led by Taleya Mayberry's 19 points while Tiffani
Couisnard added 10. Loren McDaniel contributed a game-high 10 rebounds.
UALR used the three-pointer to take an early lead it would
not relinquish. Tied at 13, Ford hustled for a defensive rebound along the base
line and threw a pass to Merriex. Merriex drained the shot and ignited a 7-0
run. After sophomore Ka'Nesheia Cobbins
split from the line, Ford's pass found Merriex again from downtown as UALR
scored seven unanswered for the 20-13 lead with 10:32 left until intermission.
It was another 7-0 push just minutes later that gave the
Trojans the double-digit advantage. Sophomore Kiera Clark cleaned up a Ford missed jumper and sophomore Taylor Gault dialed in from long range
on the left elbow. Ford hit a pair from the line to cap the seven unanswered
and UALR led 30-17 with 6:15 remaining in the half.
Tulsa held the Trojans scoreless for more than three minutes
and climbed within 30-22, but Clark stopped the drought with a pair of jumpers
followed by another jumper by Gault. Up 39-23 before half, Tulsa's Mayberry
completed an old-fashioned three for the final 13-point margin.
UALR made 14-29 from the field, assisting on 11 of its field
goals. Merriex grabbed eight rebounds in the first half alone.
The visitors made an early push in the second half and cut
the UALR lead to 41-33 on a Kelsee Grovey three. Merriex answered with a momentum-breaker from
beyond the arc which gave UALR a double-digit advantage for good. After both
teams exchanged threes, Merriex ignited a 10-0 run with a pair of triples. Ford
added a jumper followed by a Gault steal and lay-up to put the exclamation
point on the run. UALR led 55-34 with 13:05 left.
Tiffani Cousinard answered on the other end for TU, but
Merriex quickly answered with a career-record seventh trey. A jumper by
freshman Shanity James with six
seconds left gave the Trojans their largest lead of the game and the final
27-point margin.
UALR steps back into Sun Belt play Saturday (Dec. 22) when
it travels to South Alabama. Tip from Mobile, Ala. is set for noon.
