Dawn's 23 Points Lead Little Rock Over ULM

LITTLE ROCK – Alexius Dawn scored more than 20 points for the second straight game and the Little Rock defense forced 26 ULM turnovers in a 56-44 victory at the Jack Stephens Center on Saturday night.

The Trojans (4-9, 2-2 Sun Belt Conference) led for all but the first three minutes of the game and used a 13-0 run in the first quarter to take the lead for good. ULM (6-7, 0-4) shot just 30 percent from the field in the first half as the Trojans built their lead.
 
Dawn had four 3-pointers in the game – a season high – and was 5 of 7 from the free-throw line. She set her career high with 25 total points just two days earlier against Louisiana. Her 48 points is the most for any Trojan this year in a two-game stretch.
 
Dawn's final 3-pointer of the game was also the 100th of her career, moving her to a tie for seventh in team history in that category. She also scored her 500th career point on the night.
 
Besides Dawn's game-high 23 points, Sharde' Collins reached 14 and Kaitlyn Pratt scored 10 for Little Rock. Shanity James had 7 points to move up to ninth all-time in the school's career scoring list with 1,057 points.
 
Pratt and James each had five rebounds to top Trojan players, and Dawn had three of the team's seven steals. James tied a career high with six assists.
 
ULM did not help itself by committing 26 turnovers during the game. Little Rock capitalized with 23 points off those turnovers.
 
Saturday marked the Trojans' eighth straight win against the Warhawks and their eighth straight win against ULM at the Jack Stephens Center. The victory is the 704th of Joe Foley's career.
 
The Trojan offense belong to Dawn and James entirely in the first quarter, and the defense was impressive as well. ULM scored the game's first 4 points, but Little Rock then held the Warhawks scoreless for the next six minutes as it went on a 13-0 run. The Trojans led 15-6 at the end of the first quarter with Dawn scoring 10 points and James adding five. ULM committed eight turnovers in the first quarter that resulted in 9 Trojan points.

The turnovers kept coming for the Warhawks in the second, as the Trojans scored the quarter's first 4 points off ULM miscues to take a 19-6 lead. Little Rock extended its lead over ULM to as many as 19 points late in the quarter, and the Warhawks' turnover total reached 17 at the break with Little Rock leading 33-19.
 
The third quarter's beginning belonged to the visitors, as ULM scored the first 6 points of the quarter. Going back to the second quarter, the Warhawks were on a 10-0 run as they cut the Trojans' lead to 33-25. The Trojans extended that lead back into double digits quickly, though, and were ahead 45-33 by the time quarter ended.
 
ULM got as close as 8 points in the final quarter, but two Pratt free throws and a Pratt layup with 1:27 brought Little Rock's lead back up to 12 points and sealed the game.
 
Freshman Deja McKinney saw the most minutes of her young Trojan career, playing 18. She picked up two steals to go along with a rebound and an assist.
 
Little Rock will conclude its three-game homestand on Thursday, taking on Appalachian State at the Jack Stephens Center. The Trojans and Mountaineers will tip off at 5:15 p.m.