Little Rock Ready to Host #6 Texas on Sunday

GM 6 >> Little Rock (2-3) vs. #6 Texas (6-0)
Sunday, December 6 • 2 p.m. (CST)
Little Rock, Ark. • Jack Stephens Center
Live Stats | Live Video | Game Notes
Radio: Trey Schaap (PxP) and Ron Jumper (Color) on 920 AM
 
LITTLE ROCK – The Trojan women's basketball team will have possibly its biggest test of the season on Sunday afternoon when a top-10 team comes to the Jack Stephens Center. Little Rock will be challenging No. 6 Texas for the second time in three years. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
 
HOME SCHOOL SUNDAY
Great deals abound for home school students at Sunday's game. All home school students in grade six or lower will get free admission, and all parents and home school students in seventh grade or above can get in for just $5. The UALR Alumni Association is also giving away two $500 scholarships to home school families at halftime.
 
Sunday is also a big opportunity for Trojan fans to take advantage of the Family Four Pack: Four tickets, four drinks and four hot dogs will be on sale for just $40.
 
TIP OFF

• Little Rock was going toe-to-toe with No. 21 Oklahoma for 25 minutes on Wednesday night before the Sooners took over for good. The Trojans were outscored 34-23 in the second half in a 13-point loss in Norman.
• For the third consecutive game, Shanity James eclipsed the 20-point mark, something she had never done before in her career. She led Little Rock with 21 points and eight rebounds in the loss and is the reigning Sun Belt Student-Athlete of the Week.
• Sharde' Collins set a career high with 13 points against Oklahoma, topping the 12 she scored against the Sooners in 2014.
• Monique Townson broke her personal bests in rebounds (6), steals (5) and assists (6) against Oklahoma.
• Sunday marks the highest-ranked opponent to ever play in the Jack Stephens Center. Texas' No. 6 ranking is tied with Texas A&M's when they came to Little Rock in 2011.
• Little Rock and Texas have played each other just once, with the Longhorns claiming a 60-26 victory in Austin in 2013.

 
ABOUT THE TROJANS
Little Rock had its two-game winning streak broken on Wednesday night thanks to Big 12 Conference foe Oklahoma. The No. 21 Sooners were actually trailing the Trojans midway through the third quarter, but their offense and defense eventually took over and led to the victory. Little Rock senior Shanity James had her third straight 20-point game and is averaging 18.8 points per game this year. Sharde' Collins also scored in double figures in the Trojan loss.
 
The Trojans are riding a huge wave of success over the last decade, making the national postseason for seven of the last eight seasons including four NCAA Tournament berths and three WNIT trips. Little Rock was picked third in the Sun Belt's preseason coaches poll and received two first-place votes.
 
ABOUT TEXAS

• The Longhorns, based in Austin, Texas, are the No. 6 team in the country this season and have a perfect 6-0 record on the year. They most recently defeated No. 9 Mississippi State in Austin on Wednesday night.
• Other Texas wins this year have come against UTSA, Northwestern State, Rice, Hampton and No. 4 Tennessee. The Longhorns' average margin of victory is 27.8 points per game.
• Texas ranks fifth in the nation in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to make just 30.7 percent of shots. They are also fourth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 47.5 points per game. The Longhorns are one of 23 undefeated teams left in the country.
• Three Longhorns have more than 10 points per game this year: Imani Boyette (14.2), Brooke McCarty (11.3) and Brianna Taylor (10.2). Imani is also the team's leading rebounder with 9.2 boards per game.
• Former Little Rock women's basketball player Karen Aston is the Longhorns' coach. She holds a 70-56 record with Texas and a 159-104 record overall. This is her fourth year leading Texas.

 
THE SERIES AGAINST TEXAS
Little Rock and Texas met for the first time ever just two years ago at the Longhorns' building in Austin. Little Rock failed to put up much of a fight against a then-unranked Texas team, falling by a score of 60-26. Carolee Dillard was the only Trojan in double figures that day, scoring a career-high 10 points. The team as a whole shot 19.2 percent from the field. Only four Trojans who played in that game two years ago are still on the 2015-16 roster.
 
A WIN AGAINST TEXAS WOULD…
…be the team's first-ever victory over Texas…even the all-time series with Texas at 1-1…be the team's first win over a ranked team since it beat Texas A&M in the NCAA Tournament in March…be Joe Foley's 703rd career win.
 
LITTLE ROCK VS. THE BIG 12
The Trojans have played 16 contests against current Big 12 schools in their history, holding a 4-12 record in those games. Little Rock has two of those three wins against Oklahoma State, against whom it holds a 2-3 record. Little Rock is 1-1 all-time against Kansas State, 0-1 against Baylor, 1-5 against Oklahoma and 0-1 against Texas and Texas Tech. The Trojans have never faced Iowa State, Kansas, TCU or West Virginia.
 
JOE FOLEY VS. RANKED TEAMS
Since Joe Foley began coaching at Little Rock before the 2003-04 season, his teams have taken on 12 ranked opponents. In those previous 12 games, the Trojans have a 3-9 record, with two victories coming in 2014-15. The Trojans defeated then-No. 24 LSU in the 2014-15 season opener back and topped No. 20/21 Texas A&M in the NCAA Tournament's first round Oklahoma comes into Wednesday's game ranked No. 21 in the nation, and the Trojans' Sunday opponent, Texas, is No. 6.
 
HIGHEST-RANKED HOME OPPONENT
When Texas comes to the Jack Stephens Center on Sunday afternoon, the Longhorns will tie for the highest-ranked opponent ever to play the Trojans in Little Rock. Ranked No. 6 in the nation, the Longhorns' mark ties the ranked of then-No. 6 Texas A&M in 2011. The Aggies defeated the Trojans 83-54 that year. The Trojans' home opponent with the next-best ranking was Delaware in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. The Blue Hens – led by Elena Delle Donne – were a No. 3 seed in the tournament but ranked No. 7 in that week's Associated Press poll.
 
JAMES ON A ROLL
Shanity James is on the scoring roll of her life right now, reaching at least 21 points in three consecutive games. Before she put up a career-best against Oral Roberts on Nov. 24, James had never scored more than 20 points in a game. But she followed that 24-point effort with 22 more against Memphis on Nov. 27 and then put up 21 points on No. 21 Oklahoma on Wednesday night. James' average of 18.8 points per game is good for second in the Sun Belt and 52nd in the nation. She is the reigning Sun Belt Student-Athlete of the Week, and she leads the conference with 35.8 minutes played per game.
 
100 CAREER GAMES
Shanity James' appearance on Wednesday at Oklahoma marked a career milestone for the senior. When she stepped on the court against the Sooners, she was playing in her 100th career game as a Trojan. James became just the 17th player in program history to reach that mark. On Sunday against Texas, she could reach another career milestone with 6 more points. That number would give her 1,000 in her career.
 
COLLINS GOES BIG
Not to be overlooked, junior Sharde' Collins had the best scoring game of her life on Wednesday in Norman, contributing 13 points to the Little Rock offense. Collins' previous career high? When she scored 12 points against that same Oklahoma team one year earlier in Little Rock.
 
TOWNSON SETTING BESTS
Collins wasn't the only Trojan putting up new career highs on Wednesday. Sophomore Monique Towson has quickly become a big part of Little Rock's team this year, and she showed it by setting career bests in three categories against the Sooners. Townson set new career marks with six rebounds, six assists and five steals. Townson is the team leader this year with 22 assists, 4.4 per game.
 
EVEN REBOUNDING
Through five games, the Trojans have pulled down 178 rebounds and allowed exactly the same number. The difference comes on the offensive and defensive glass. Little Rock is actually 14 rebounds better than the opposition on the offensive glass, bringing down 70 offensive rebounds to opponents' 56. But on the defensive glass, Trojan opponents have the 14-rebound edge, leading Little Rock 122-108.
 
FOUL TROUBLE
The Trojans have been consistently in foul trouble throughout the season, and the team has committed 120 fouls through five games – an average of 24 per night. Trojan players have fouled out 10 times this season, meaning an average of two Trojans foul out per night. Shanity James, Sharde' Collins, Alexius Dawn and Kaitlyn Pratt have all fouled out twice this year.
 
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Little Rock has had an incredible home-court advantage over the last two seasons, going 13-1 each year for a .929 winning percentage. The Trojans were also 9-0 at home in conference play in 2014-15, finishing their Sun Belt slate undefeated at home. The team has done this four times in its history now under Joe Foley, going 9-0 in 2007-08, 2009-10, 2013-14 and 2014-15. Overall at the Jack Stephens Center, Little Rock is 126-22, a winning percentage of .851. The Trojans last lost a home conference game in January 2013, a streak of 24 straight wins.
 
PINPOINT SHOOTING
Shanity James' big shooting night on Friday against Memphis came at a very high percentage of shooting from the field. In the first half, James went 7 of 9 from the floor, and her only two misses were desperation 3-pointers that came at the end of the first quarter and with the shot clock expiring in the second quarter. James did not miss a 2-point shot until the second half. She finished the game shooting 10 of 16 – tying her career record for made field goals – and shot an impressive 20 of 38 (.526) last week in games at Oral Roberts and against Memphis.
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
James' excellent week led to her being named the Sun Belt's Student-Athlete of the Week on Tuesday afternoon. The award was her second in as many years and the first for any Trojan this season.
 
CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Against Oklahoma:

• Shanity James played in her 100th career game.
• Alexius Dawn grabbed her 100th defensive rebound.
• Sharde' Collins scored her 200th career point.

Coming soon:

• Shanity James is two blocks away from fifth all-time in Trojan history and 6 points away from 1,000.
• Keanna Keys needs three more defensive rebounds for 100.
• Alexius Dawn is 11 points away from the 400th of her career.

 
UP NEXT
Little Rock will have a full week off to recover after taking on its second consecutive ranked opponent. The Trojans will battle Tulsa at the Jack Stephens Center on Dec. 13 at 2 p.m.