Foley Earns 250th LR Win at UT Arlington

ARLINGTON, Texas – It was a stressful final few minutes, but Little Rock's Joe Foley earned his 250th victory as head coach of the Trojans thanks to a 59-55 victory over UT Arlington at College Park Center on Saturday night.
 
Little Rock (6-11, 4-4 Sun Belt Conference) led the game by as many as 14 points with five minutes to play in the fourth quarter before making just one of their final five field goal attempts. The Mavericks made the game interesting, cutting the lead to just 4 points before time ran out on them.
 
The victory was the 706th of Joe Foley's long career as a college head coach as well as being his 250th at the helm of the Trojans.
 
Shanity James led Little Rock with 15 points and also had a team-high six rebounds and nearly equaling her career high with three blocks. Kaitlyn Pratt finished with double-figure scoring for the fifth straight game, scoring 12 and adding six rebounds. Alexius Dawn also had a double-figure scoring night with 10 points.
 
The Trojans' takeover began late in the third quarter. Ahead by just 2 points at 37-35 with 1:38 to play, the team ended the quarter on a 5-0 run thanks to a James layup and a Dawn buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
 
In the fourth, Little Rock scored 6 of the first 7 points including a great sequence from James. The senior got down low for a layup at the 7:32 mark, then stole the ball from the Mavericks on the next defensive possession. She streaked down the court for an and-1 layup, sinking the free throw to make it a 48-37 lead for the Trojans with seven minutes to play.
 
The Mavericks called a timeout after that, but James emphasized the Trojans' swing even further just two minutes later. She blocked a Mavericks' 3-point attempt and went on another fast break. That would make it a 14-2 Trojan run and give the team a 51-37 lead with just under five minutes to play.
 
UT Arlington cut into the 14-point lead over the final five minutes, hitting four field goals and five free throws. But three James free throws, a Pratt free throw and a Pratt and James layup were enough to keep the Mavericks at bay.
 
The win was Little Rock's fifth straight win against the Mavericks and its third straight win at College Park Center.
 
Pratt's 12 points came on a very efficient scoring night as she went 4 of 5 from the field and 4 of 6 from the free-throw line. James also shot a high percentage, going 5 of 8 from the field and 5 of 7 from the line. James was also crafty on defense, putting up five steals to go along with her three blocks.
 
Little Rock used James and Dawn off the bench again Saturday, instead giving a first-career start to freshman Amber Landing.
 
Sharde' Collins also played a large role on the night, playing 39 minutes while draining two 3-poniters and picking up a team-high four assists.
 
During the game, James reached 100 career steals and 1,100 career points.
 
Little Rock will return home for its next four games, beginning that season-long home stretch by taking on Georgia Southern at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday and Georgia State at 4 p.m. on Saturday.