LR Seeking Season Sweep of Georgia Schools Saturday

GM 25 >> Little Rock (13-11, 11-4 SBC) at Georgia Southern (7-17, 4-11 SBC)
Saturday, Feb. 20 • 3:30 p.m. (CST)
Statesboro, Ga. • Hanner Fieldhouse
Live Stats | Live Video | Game Notes
Radio: Trey Schaap (PxP) on 920 AM
 
LITTLE ROCK – The win streak is up to eight, and the Little Rock women's basketball team is not satisfied just yet. The Trojans will look for their ninth consecutive win and a four-game road trip sweep when they visit Georgia Southern for a 3:30 p.m. game on Saturday.
 
TIP OFF

• Little Rock continued its long winning streak on Thursday night with a 15-point victory at Georgia Southern. The Trojans have now won eight consecutive games. The team's last loss was Jan. 21 at Texas State.
• Little Rock's defense continues to shine, as the Trojans lead the Sun Belt in league-only games, allowing just 50.6 points per game. The Trojans have given up 50 points or fewer in 9 of its 15 league games and four straight.
• Keanna Keys is coming off just her second career double-double on Thursday. She had 12 points and 12 rebounds off the bench in just 21 minutes.
• Sharde' Collins' 15 points led Little Rock on Thursday, marking just the fourth time this year that Collins was the team's top scorer.
• Little Rock is in second place in the Sun Belt Conference standings, one game ahead of third-place Louisiana and two games ahead of fourth-place South Alabama. The Trojans clinched a berth in the league tournament on Thursday.
• In the Trojans' first meeting with Georgia Southern this year, Little Rock won by 33, a season-best margin of victory.

 
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 an eight-game winning streak and are in sole possession of second place in the Sun Belt Conference standings with an 11-4 record. Little Rock kept that lead with a 15-point win at Georgia State on Thursday that saw Keanna Keys earn her second career double-double and Sharde' Collins lead Little Rock with 15 points.
 
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 GEORGIA SOUTHERN

• The Eagles, based in Statesboro, Ga., hold a 7-17 record on the year and are 4-11 in Sun Belt Conference play. Their league wins have come against South Alabama, Georgia State, Texas State and Appalachian State.
• Georgia Southern is on a three-game losing streak and has lost five of its last six games since playing Little Rock in late January. The Eagles most recently lost by 27 to Arkansas State in Statesboro.
• Angel McGowan is leading Georgia Southern with 14.9 points per game, and Patrice Butler averages 12.5 points per game as the only other Eagle in double-figure scoring.
• Butler is the Eagles' top rebounder, pulling down 5.6 boards per game. Alexis Sams has the most assists on the team with 2.7 per outing
• Kip Drown is the new head coach of the Eagles. He has a 6-11 record at Georgia Southern but a 470-353 record overall as a college coach in 28 years.

 
THE SERIES AGAINST GEORGIA SOUTHERN
The rivalry between the Trojans and the Eagles began last season, and the Trojans claimed both contests during that first year. Little Rock's dominance in the series continued earlier this year when the Trojans claimed a 33-point victory at the Jack Stephens Center. Little Rock's average margin of victory against Georgia Southern is 21.3 points per game.
 
A WIN AGAINST GEORGIA SOUTHERN WOULD…
…be the team's ninth straight win overall…be the team's fourth straight win against the Panthers…keep the Trojans undefeated all-time against Georgia Southern…put Little Rock eight games above .500 in league play…give the Trojans at least 12 wins in league play for the ninth straight year …be Joe Foley's 714th 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 140-37 in the league and have claimed the outright regular-season championship once and the tournament championship three times.
 
TOURNAMENT CLINCHED
With its win against Georgia State on Thursday night, the Trojans officially clinched a berth in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Little Rock can now finish no worse than seventh in the league. Little Rock has now made the league tournament for each of the last 12 years. The tournament is set to begin in New Orleans on March 9.
 
EIGHT IN A ROW
The Trojans' victory against Georgia State extended its season-long winning streak to eight games. Little Rock's longest winning streak in 2014-15 lasted for 10 games. Little Rock has had at least an eight-game winning streak in four of the last six seasons.
 
KEYS DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Keanna Keys had just the second double-double of her career on Thursday at Georgia State, putting up 12 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Even more impressive, Keys accomplished that feat in just 21 minutes off the bench. Keys' game set season highs for her in points scored, rebounds, field goals made and attempted. The junior's other career double-double came against Georgia Southern in Little Rock last year when she scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
 
COLLINS TOPS THE TEAM
Sharde' Collins led Little Rock with 15 points at Georgia State, marking just the fourth time all season she was the leading scorer on Little Rock's roster. Collins last led the team in scoring against Troy at the Jack Stephens Center with 18 points. Her season and career high of 21 came against Texas in December.
 
NO REST
Three Trojans played all 40 minutes of the team's game at Georgia State on Thursday, marking the most players who had not subbed out all year. Alexius Dawn, Sharde' Collins and Monique Townson all played the entirety of the game. Collins set a new career high with those 40 minutes while Townson and Dawn tied their career highs. Little Rock players have seen all 40 minutes of action now just eight total times this year
 
NATIONAL DEFENSIVE RANKING
As Little Rock continues to hold teams to incredibly low offensive outputs, the team's national ranking in scoring defensive continues to improve. As of Friday morning, the Trojans' 55.3 points per game allowed ranks 27th in the entire nation. Little Rock finished third nationally in that category last year, allowing just 51.5 points per game.
 
CONFERENCE WIN #150
Coach Foley reached another career milestone on Feb. 13 at Louisiana, winning his 150th career game in the Sun Belt Conference. That ranks Foley as the second-winningest coach in league history. The only other coach ahead of Foley for Sun Belt wins – now 151 – is  Arkansas State's Brian Boyer with 168 and counting. Boyer, though, has had four extra years to pile up those 17 extra wins. Foley is averaging 11.6 league wins per year while Boyer has only 9.9.
 
CONFERENCE SCORING MARGIN
In nine of Little Rock's 11 Sun Belt wins, Little Rock has won by at least 12 points. Little Rock is averaging a margin of victory of 17.5 points per game in its 11 league wins. Its four league losses, by comparison, are coming by an average of just 9.3 points. As a whole, Little Rock has a scoring margin of +10.3 in its 15 Sun Belt Conference games.
 
JAMES ON A SCORING ROLL
Shanity James has been on an amazing scoring streak of late, reaching at least 10 points in the last eight games and leading the Trojans in scoring in all but two of those games. She had 22 points on Feb. 13 at Louisiana, marking the sixth time this season she has scored at least 20 points. James has topped the Trojans in scoring in 10 games this year and had a four-game streak during non-conference play. She has scored in double figures in 19 total games out of 22 she has played in.
 
CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Coming soon:

• Alexius Dawn is 3 points shy of 600 and six assists away from 200.
• Sharde' Collins needs 15 more points for 400.
• Kaitlyn Pratt's next steal will be her 50th.

 
UP NEXT
After two weeks on the road, the Trojans return home on Thursday for the first of three straight home games. Little Rock tips off its homestand with a 5:15 p.m. game against UT Arlington. The contest will be the Trojans' annual Pink Zone.