Eleventh Straight Win in Sights for LR Saturday

GM 27 >> Little Rock (15-11, 13-4 SBC) vs. Texas State (12-14, 7-9 SBC)
Saturday, Feb. 27 • 4 p.m. (CST)
Little Rock, Ark. • Jack Stephens Center
Live Stats | Live Video | Game Notes
Radio: Trey Schaap (PxP) and Ron Jumper (Color) on 920 AM
 
LITTLE ROCK – With 10 wins in a row locked up, the Little Rock women's basketball team will look to extend that streak to 11 straight when Texas State comes to town on Saturday. Tipoff between the Trojans and Bobcats is set for 4 p.m.
 
SATURDAY PROMOTIONS
The Trojans will welcome its fans to the Jack Stephens Center with an '80s twist on Saturday, as the team will be holding '80s Night. Fans are encouraged to dress in 1980s-style outfits.
 
Saturday will also be the final day for the Junior Trojans Club this year.
 
TIP OFF

• The Trojans' winning streak is now at 10 games thanks to a tight victory against UT Arlington on Thursday night. Little Rock's last loss came on Jan. 21 against Texas State, the team's Saturday opponent.
• Little Rock's defense continues to shine, as the Trojans lead the Sun Belt in league-only games, allowing just 49.8 points per game. The Trojans have given up 50 points or fewer in 11 of its 17 league games and six straight.
• Little Rock has been clutch at the free throw line in the last two games, making 39 of 45 shots from the charity stripe. The team's 20 of 22 effort on Thursday was its best of the year from the free-throw line.
• Little Rock is in second place in the Sun Belt Conference standings, two games ahead of third-place Louisiana. The Trojans clinched a berth in the league tournament last week and will now finish no worse than fourth.
• Texas State defeated Little Rock 67-57 when the teams met in San Marcos 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 10-game winning streak and are in sole possession of second place in the Sun Belt Conference standings with a 13-4 record. Little Rock edged out UT Arlington on Thursday at the Jack Stephens Center, sinking seven free throws in the final two minutes to maintain a narrow lead over the Mavericks. The Trojans hit 20 of 22 free throws overall against UT Arlington.
 
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 TEXAS STATE

• The Bobcats, based in San Marcos, Texas, are 12-14 on the season with a 7-9 mark in Sun Belt Conference play. They most recently lost at Arkansas State by an 87-5 score.
• Texas State is currently seventh in the Sun Belt Conference standings and has not yet clinched a berth in the league tournament.
• Kaitlin Walla is leading the Bobcats in scoring with 10.8 points per game, and Taeler Deer has 10.3 points per game. In rebounding, Ericka May tops the roster with 7.2 per game.
• The Bobcats are fourth in the Sun Belt in free-throw percentage with a .709 team percentage. They are also the second-best 3-point shooting team in the league, shooting .346 from distance.
• Ayriel Anderson is second in the conference at the charity stripe, making 82.9 percent of her free throws.
• Coach Zenarae Antoine is in her fourth year with the Bobcats in 2015-16. She has an all-time record of 72-79 with Texas State.

 
THE SERIES AGAINST TEXAS STATE
The Trojans and Bobcats have played 10 times, and Little Rock holds a 6-4 advantage that it earned with three wins last year. When the teams last met in San Marcos earlier this season, Texas State picked up the win by outscoring Little Rock by 9 points in the first quarter and never giving up the lead. That game was Little Rock's last loss of the year.
 
A WIN AGAINST TEXAS STATE WOULD…
…be the team's 11th straight win overall…put Little Rock 10 games above .500 in league play…guarantee the team finishes no worse than third in the conference…give the Trojans at least 14 wins in league play for the second straight year …be Joe Foley's 716th career win…be the team's eighth straight win at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
LITTLE ROCK VS. THE SUN BELT
In the last 10 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 142-37 in the league and have claimed the outright regular-season championship once and the tournament championship three times.
 
SEASON-BEST FREE THROWS
Little Rock had its best night of the season at the free-throw line on Thursday, sinking 20 of its 22 attempts from the line. That percentage – 90.9 percent – was the team's best of the year. During the game, Keanna Keys made 6 of 6 free throws, Alexius Dawn made 4 of 4, Kaitlyn Pratt made 2 of 2 and Shanity James made 8 of 10. Those eight made free throws are one shy of James' single-game career high. Over the last two games, the Trojans have made 39 of 45 free-throw attempts.
 
KEEPING THEM OUT OF THE PAINT
UT Arlington's first quarter on Thursday night saw the Mavericks pick up 12 points in the paint. But after that, Little Rock's defense locked down UT Arlington. The Mavericks had just 2 points in the paint in the game's final 30 minutes.
 
SHOT BLOCKER
Shanity James tied a season high with three blocks against UT Arlington on Thursday. The senior now has 92 blocks in her career, the fourth-most in program history. The Trojans as a whole also had four blocks, tying a season high for the team.
 
TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS
Little Rock, currently second in the Sun Belt Conference standings, can now finish no worse than fourth in the league. The Trojans are one game away from clinching at least the No. 3 seed and two wins away from clinching the No. 2 seed. The No. 2 seed in the conference tournament will get an automatic bid to the WNIT if the No. 1 seed wins the tournament.
 
10 IN A ROW
The Trojans' victory against UT Arlington extended its season-long winning streak to 10 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.
 
HOLDING TEAMS UNDER 60
A trend has emerged in 14 of the Trojans' 15 victories this year: in those 14 victories, the Trojans' opponent has scored under 60 points. Little Rock is now 14-1 in games this year where the opponent has fewer than 60 points. When the Trojans' opponent scores 60 or more, Little Rock drops to 1-10.
 
JAMES ON A SCORING ROLL
Shanity James has been on an amazing scoring streak of late, reaching at least 10 points in nine of the last 10 games and leading the Trojans in scoring in all but two of those games. She had 22 points on Feb. 20 at Georgia Southern, marking the second time in three games she reached that scoring total. James has topped the Trojans in scoring in 12 games this year and had a four-game streak during non-conference play. She has scored in double figures in 21 total games out of 24 she has played in.
 
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 Thursday morning, the Trojans' 54.9 points per game allowed ranks 26th in the entire nation. Little Rock finished third nationally in that category last year, allowing just 51.5 points per game.
 
ACCURATE SHOOTING
Little Rock players Kaitlyn Pratt and Shanity James both rank in the top five in the Sun Belt Conference in field goal percentage this season. Pratt is third in the league with a .544 shooting percentage, and James is fourth in the league with a .523 shooting percentage. In conference-only games, Pratt leads the Sun Belt with a .589 field goal percentage. James' .538 shooting percentage ranks 37th in the nation.
 
FREE THROWS SAVE THE DAY
Little Rock made just one field goal in the fourth quarter against Georgia Southern on Saturday, but the Trojans' excellent free-throw shooting down the stretch helped the team pull out a victory. Little Rock hit seven of its eight free throws in the final 2:40, sealing a 5-point win over the Eagles. Little Rock was an impressive 19 of 22 (82.6 percent) from the charity stripe in the win.

CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Coming soon:

• Alexius Dawn is three assists away from 200.
• Sharde' Collins needs 6 more points for 400.
• Kaitlyn Pratt needs 11 points for 600.

 
UP NEXT
The Trojans will play their final game of the season in front of the Jack Stephens Center crowd on Tuesday, battling Arkansas State in a showdown between the league's first- and second-place teams. Tipoff is set for 5:15 p.m.