Trojans Head to Louisiana for Two Games

GM 21 >> Little Rock (10-11, 8-4 SBC) at ULM (9-12, 3-9 SBC)
Thursday, Feb. 11 • 5:15 p.m. (CST)
Monroe, La. • Fant-Ewing Coliseum
Live Stats | Live Video | Game Notes
Radio: Trey Schaap (PxP) on 920 AM
 
LITTLE ROCK – After completing a four-game homestand, the Trojan women's basketball team is back on the road and ready to take on ULM on Thursday. Little Rock will be seeking its sixth straight win when it takes on the Warhawks at 5:15 p.m.
 
TIP OFF

• Little Rock is now on a season-long five-game winning streak and is solidly in third place in the Sun Belt Conference after a win against South Alabama on Saturday.
• The Trojans have won 30 of their last 31 Sun Belt Conference home games dating back to January 2013.
• Shanity James has led Little Rock in scoring in each of the last four games, totaling 17, 16, 18 and 22 points in those games. James has scored at least 20 points in five games this year.
• Shanity James leads the Sun Belt with a shooting percentage of 54.6 percent and is 34th in the nation in that category.
• Little Rock played 13 players in their game against South Alabama on Saturday, tying a season high for most players used. Alivia Huell played in just her second career game.
• Monique Townson had eight assists on Saturday, setting a new career high.
• Little Rock defeated ULM 56-44 when the teams played at the Jack Stephens Center in January.

 
ABOUT THE TROJANS
After a rough start to the season that saw the team go 2-7 in non-league play against a difficult schedule, the Trojans continue to improve every game as Sun Belt play goes into its second half. The Trojans are now on a five-game winning streak and are in third place in the Sun Belt Conference standings with an 8-4 record. Little Rock dominated on both sides of the ball against South Alabama on Saturday, defeating the Jaguars by 31 points as Shanity James led the team with 22.
 
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 ULM

• The Warhawks, based in Monroe, La., hold a 9-12 record this season and are in last place in the Sun Belt Conference with a 3-9 league record. They are currently on a two-game losing streak, falling to Louisiana and Appalachian State last week.
• ULM's wins in the league have come against Troy and Texas State at home and on the road against Georgia Southern. In non-league play, they defeated just two Division I schools of their six non-conference wins.
• Alaysia Hunter is the Warhawks' top scorer, averaging 16.9 points per game. That number is good for third in the Sun Belt. Hunter's field goal percentage is fourth in the conference at 53.4 percent.
• Daja Chase is third in the league in rebounding, bringing down 8.6 boards per game, and she scored 8.4 points per game. Chelsea Tieuel is the Warhawks' other lone double-digit scorer, putting up 11.3 points per game.
• Jeff Dow is ULM's coach for the second year, and he holds an 18-23 record coaching the Warhawks. His head coaching record overall is 235-118 over 12 years.

THE SERIES AGAINST ULM
Conference rivals for the last 10 years, ULM and Little Rock have faced off 22 times in that span and 24 times overall. The Trojans own the series historically, claiming 21 of those 24 games and are currently on an eight-game winning streak over the Warhawks. Before a loss in January 2012 in Fant-Ewing Coliseum, Little Rock had won the last 11 games in the series. When the teams met earlier this year, Little Rock defeated the Warhawks by 12 at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
A WIN AGAINST ULM WOULD…
…be the team's sixth straight win overall…be the team's ninth straight win against ULM…put Little Rock five games above .500 in league play…be Joe Foley's 711th career win.
 
LITTLE ROCK VS. THE SUN BELT
In the last nine years, Little Rock has done a tremendous job in its conference games, claiming at least 12 victories in each of those years. The Trojans have not finished below .500 in the Sun Belt since the 2005-06 season, Joe Foley's third year. Little Rock also won the West Division Championship for six consecutive seasons when the league still had divisions. Over the last 10 seasons including 2015-16, the Trojans hold a record of 137-37 in the league and have claimed the outright regular-season championship once and the tournament championship three times.
 
JAMES UP TO THIRD IN FREE THROWS
In the category of career made free throws, Shanity James moved up from sixth all-time in Little Rock history to third in a single game against South Alabama on Saturday. The senior, who began the day with 258 made free throws, sank eight in the game against the Jaguars to finish with 266 in her career. She passed Jocelyn Love and Marian Kursh in the process of making one free throw less than her single-game career high. James is 69 free made free throws away from tying Taylor Gault's all-time record of 335 set last season but only 41 away from second-place Chastity Reed. James is already the program's career leader in attempted free throws with 514.
 
RECENT BLOWOUTS
Little Rock has won three of its last four games by at least 27 points. The Trojans defeated South Alabama by 31 on Saturday, Georgia State by 27 on Jan. 30 and Georgia Southern by 33 on Jan. 28. In seven of the team's Sun Belt wins, Little Rock has won by at least 12 points. Little Rock is averaging a margin of victory of 21.7 points per game in its seven league wins. Its four league losses, by comparison, are coming by an average of just 9.3 points.
 
REBOUNDING MARGIN
On Saturday against South Alabama, for the seventh time in eight games, the Trojans outrebounded their opponent by at least 10 rebounds. The final tally against South Alabama was 32-21 in favor of Little Rock. In the last eight games, Little Rock has outrebounded its oppoennts 306-219 for an average of 10.9 rebounds more per game. In the 13 games before that, Little Rock was outrebounded by an average of 2.9 per game. Little Rock is 6-2 in the last 8 games and was 4-9 in the first 13.
 
JAMES ON A SCORING ROLL
Shanity James has been on an amazing scoring streak of late, reaching at least 15 points in the last five games and leading the Trojans in scoring in all of them. She had 22 points on Saturday against South Alabama, marking the fifth time this season she has scored at least 20 points. James has topped the Trojans in scoring in nine games this year and had a four-game streak during non-conference play. She has scored in double figures in 16 total games out of 19 she has played in.
 
TOWNSON ASSISTS
Monique Townson had the best passing game of her Little Rock career on Saturday, dishing on a career-best eight assists in the win over South Alabama. Townson's previous career high of six assists came against Oklahoma earlier in the year. Used in just 103 minutes last season, Townson has played as the Trojans' true point guard in 650 minutes this year and has 68 assists compared to just eight as a freshman.
 
DAWN GETTING HER SHOT DOWN
Senior Alexius Dawn was known as a deadly 3-point shooter last season, but her accuracy decreased significantly in 2015-16. But Dawn looked excellent on Saturday, tying her season best with four made 3-pointers on just eight attempts against South Alabama. Those four made 3-pointers also tied a single-game high for any Trojan this year. Dawn is already sixth on Little Rock's all-time made 3-pointers list with 112, though she has made just 36 this season compared to 76 last year.
 
PERFECT OFF THE BENCH
Keanna Keys has not held a starting role often lately, but she was excellent off the bench on Saturday at South Alabama. Keys tied a season high for scoring with 10 points, making all three of her field goal attempts and all four of her free throw attempts. Keys is averaging 5.0 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game this year for the Trojans.
 
STEALS INTO POINTS
Little Rock tied a season high on Saturday for steals, swiping the ball from South Alabama 13 times. Little Rock benefitted from 24 total turnovers by the Jaguars, flipping those turnovers into 32 points. Those points are just 11 fewer than the Jaguars scored all game.
 
NEW FACES IN ACTION
Little Rock sophomore Alivia Huell had never played a game entering the Jan. 28 game against Georgia Southern, but the Malvern native's patience paid off when Coach Foley called on her with three minutes left in the game. Huell saw her first action as a Trojan, picking up one rebound and swatting away one Georgia Southern shot. Huell had missed all 51 previous games played while she was on the roster. She made her second career appearance on Saturday against South Alabama, playing two more minutes and grabbing another rebound.
 
BENCH EMPTIED
Coach Joe Foley used 13 different players during the Jan. 28 game against Georgia Southern, the most during any single game this year. He repeated that feat on Saturday against South Alabama. Only one player on the roster has not seen game action this year.
 
CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Against South Alabama:

• Keanna Keys got her 250th career rebound.
• Kaitlyn Pratt got her 200th career defensive rebound.

Coming soon:

• Sharde' Collins needs one more defensive rebound for 100.
• Alexius Dawn is two steals away from 100.
• Kaitlyn Pratt needs five more offensive rebounds for 200 and three more total rebounds for 400.
• Shanity James is 16 away from 1,200 career points.

 
UP NEXT
Little Rock has a huge game coming up on Saturday as it travels to Lafayette to take on Louisiana with second place in the Sun Belt Conference potentially on the line. The Trojans and the Ragin' Cajuns are set for a 2 p.m. tipoff at the Cajundome.