LITTLE ROCK – After an offensive struggle for the first 30 minutes, the Little Rock women's basketball team went on an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter to defeat North Texas 55-44 in the Preseason WNIT First Round at the Jack Stephens Center on Friday night.
 
The Trojans (1-0) will now advance to the WNIT Second Round contest at Green Bay on Sunday at 1 p.m. Green Bay defeated Elon 74-53 on Friday night.
 
Senior Sharde' Collins led Little Rock with 17 points, and Kaitlyn Pratt picked up a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds and had a team-high three steals. Junior Monique Townson also scored in double figures with 13 and led the team with four assists.
 
The Trojans managed just 23 points in the first half but outscored the Mean Green 32-21 in the second including the 11-0 run that started with 8:12 left in the final quarter. Pratt, Townson, Emily Lytle, Ronjanae DeGray and Collins all contributed to that run that gave Little Rock a 44-34 lead, its largest in the game to that point.
 
Neither team was able to get much going offensively in the first half, as Little Rock shot just 32.1 percent from the field while North Texas shot 34.6 percent. Collins had 12 points at the break, Pratt added 7 and 2 each came from Townson and Chastain. The teams were tied 23-23 at the break.
 
Four of the Trojans' six freshmen – Lytle, Sydney Chastain, Kyra Collier and Anna Hurlburt – played in the contest while Raeyana DeGray got her first career start and Ronjanae DeGray got her second.
 
Little Rock's next game will be played on Sunday as part of the WNIT Second Round. The Trojans will travel to Green Bay for a date with the Phoenix at 1 p.m.