Trojans Ready for Final Non-League Challenge at LSU

Game 12: Little Rock at LSU
Date	Wednesday, December 21
Time	7 p.m.
Location	Baton Rouge, La.
Stadium	Maravich Center
Stats	Statbroadcast
Audio	KARN The Sports Animal
Video	SEC Network +
Notes	Little Rock

LITTLE ROCK – The heavy hitters keep on coming for Little Rock women's basketball, as the Trojans will be facing their fourth major-conference foe of the season on Wednesday.
 
Little Rock heads south to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to take on Southeastern Conference opposition in LSU. The Trojans and Tigers will be meeting for the fourth consecutive season.
 
Following this week's final non-conference game of the year, the Trojans will have faced four powerhouse teams from major conferences: Oklahoma (Big 12 Conference), Texas A&M (Southeastern Conference), Mississippi State (SEC) and LSU (SEC). Three of those four opponents were ranked, and the Trojans were either trailing or leading by 1 point at halftime in those first three games.
 
Little Rock enters the game on a hot streak, having won five of its last six games with the lone loss in that stretch to No. 5 Mississippi State. The Trojans came from behind on Sunday at Tulsa for a 63-58 win over the Hurricane. Trailing by as many as 15 points in the third quarter, Little Rock overcame that deficit for a 5-point win. That win tied the Joe Foley-era program record for largest deficit overcome in a victory.

Kyra Collier's phenomenal night was a huge part of the Little Rock win. The freshman set a career high with 15 points and 17 rebounds, earning her first career double-double and tying for the third-best rebounding game in Trojan history.
 
Three other Trojans scored in double figures during the game including Kaitlyn Pratt (15 points), Sharde' Collins (15) and Ronjanae DeGray (10) to mark the first time all year the Trojans had four double-figure scorers. The team also eclipsed 60 points for the first time all year.
 
But Little Rock continues to win with defense. After uncharacteristically allowing Tulsa to score 33 points in the first half, the Trojans shut them down in the second. The Hurricane scored just 22 in the second half and shot just 26.7 percent in the fourth quarter as Little Rock completed its comeback.

LSU is one of the hottest teams in the country right now having won five straight games and posting a 9-2 overall record after winning just 10 games all of last year. The Tigers just defeated North Carolina by a 70-43 score on Sunday and have only lost to No. 1 UConn and Kansas State.
 
LSU is led on offense by three players averaging double-figure scoring: Raigyne Moncrief (14.3 ppg), Chloe Jackson (11.0) and Alexis Hyder (10.6). The Tigers are No. 7 in the nation in RPI as of Monday morning but are not ranked or receiving votes in any major poll.
 
TIP OFF

• Little Rock pulled off a come-from-behind victory over Tulsa on Sunday, defeating the Hurricane despite trailing by as many as 15 points early in the third quarter.
• Kyra Collier had her first career double-double with 15 points and 17 rebounds. Those 17 rebounds tied for the third-best rebounding game in team history.
• Little Rock had four double-digit scorers for the first time all season and scored 60 points for the first time all season at Tulsa.
• Kaitlyn Pratt eclipsed 800 career points at Tulsa and is now 15th all-time in team history for points.
• LSU will be the fourth major-conference opponent the Trojans have played this season. Little Rock lost all three previous games (Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Mississippi State) but was one point ahead or behind all three of those opponents at halftime.
• Little Rock's defense is 21st-best in the nation, allowing just 53.5 points per game. The Trojans keep opponents 13 points below their season average.
• The Tigers hold a 2-1 series lead against Little Rock, and the Trojans upset the then-No. 24 Tigers to open the 2014-15 at the Maravich Center.

           
The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy.  New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12 and ticket books can now be purchased from your our ticket office.  For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship – Women's Championship – and be sure to follow the @FunBelt on social media - @SunBelt.