Trojans Seeking 13th Straight Win Thursday in Boone

GM 29 >> Little Rock (17-11, 15-4 SBC) at Appalachian State (10-17, 7-11 SBC)
Thursday, March 3 • 4 p.m. (CST)
Boone, N.C. • Holmes Convocation Center
Live Stats | Live Video | Game Notes
Radio: Trey Schaap (PxP) on 920 AM
 
LITTLE ROCK – The Trojan women's basketball game is coming off their best win of the season on Tuesday night, but they'll have to move on quickly for a Thursday road trip to North Carolina. Little Rock is set to face Appalachian State to close out the regular season on at 4 p.m. Thursday in Boone, N.C.
 
TIP OFF

• Little Rock's winning streak is now up to 12 games and is the 13th-longest winning streak in the nation after the Trojans knocked off Arkansas State on Tuesday night. Little Rock's last loss came on Jan. 21 at Texas State.
• The Red Wolves, already the Sun Belt Conference's regular-season champions, had an 18-game winning streak going into Tuesday night.
• The Trojans have clinched the league's No. 2 seed and will play the No. 7 seed in the tournament's first round.
• Little Rock's defense continues to shine, as the Trojans are now 23rd in the nation in scoring defense. The team has given up just 54.6 points per game this year and has allowed 50 points or fewer in seven of its last eight games.
• Little Rock did not lose in the month of February.
• Shanity James and Kaitlyn Pratt each had double-doubles on Tuesday against the Red Wolves, and James moved up to fifth all-time in Little Rock history in scoring with a career-high 25 points.
• The Trojans knocked off Appalachian State by 17 points when the teams met in Little Rock in mid-January. Little Rock has never lost to the Mountaineers in three games.

 
ABOUT THE TROJANS
The Trojans got their 12th straight win on Tuesday against Arkansas State, knocking off their chief rival while breaking the Red Wolves' 18-game winning streak in the process. Little Rock got double-doubles from Shanity James and Kaitlyn Pratt in the win and remained unbeaten against Arkansas State at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
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 but surpassed that with a second-place finish this year.
 
ABOUT APPALACHIAN STATE

• The Mountaineers, based in Boone, N.C., are currently clinging to the No. 8 seed in the Sun Belt Conference with a 7-11 conference record. They are 10-17 overall.
• App State has the third-best scoring offense in the Sun Belt as they score 66.1 points per game.
• Joi Jones, the reigning Sun Belt Student-Athlete of the Year, is leading the Mountaineers in scoring with 12.3 points per game. Madi Story is also in double-figure scoring with 12.0 points per game.
• KeKe Cooper leads App State in rebounding with 7.4 boards per game, just outside the top five in the league. Jones is the team's top passer with three assists per game.
• Angel Elderkin is in her second year leading the Mountaineers and has a 24-33 record with the team and as a college head coach overall.

 
THE SERIES AGAINST APPALACHIAN STATE
Little Rock and Appalachian State's rivalry is a brand new one, as the Trojans and Mountaineers had never played before last season. Little Rock won both of those meetings by scores of 69-48 at home and 63-49 on the road. The Trojans extended that all-time lead in the series to 3-0 with a 67-50 win over the Mountaineers at the Jack Stephens Center in mid-January.
 
A WIN AGAINST APPALACHIAN STATE WOULD…
…be the team's 13th straight win overall…be the team's fourth straight win against Appalachian State…keep the Trojans undefeated against the Mountaineers lifetime…put Little Rock 12 games above .500 in league play…give the Trojans at least 16 wins in league play for the second straight year …be Joe Foley's 718th career win.
 
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 144-37 in the league and have claimed the outright regular-season championship once and the tournament championship three times.
 
JAMES PASSES CASH
Thanks to the 25 points she scored on Tuesday against Arkansas State, Shanity James crossed the 1,300-point barrier in her career while also moving up to fifth all-time in Little Rock history in scoring. James ended the night with 1,303 points, moving past current assistant coach Alicia Cash's 1,282. She is still some distance away from fourth place all-time in Little Rock history. She would need 192 more points to surpass Jocelyn Love.
 
DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Shanity James and Kaitlyn Pratt teamed up for two double-doubles on Tuesday night against Arkansas State, with James scoring 25 points and getting 14 rebounds to lead the team in both categories. Pratt had 14 points and 11 rebounds. The double-double was James' sixth of the season and Pratt's fourth of the year. The two also had double-doubles at the same time when the Trojans played Arkansas State in Jonesboro in January.
 
FOUR IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Little Rock had four people score in double figures on Tuesday, marking the first time this had happened for the team since it played Troy on Feb. 4. Besides James' 25 points and Pratt's 14, Little Rock got 13 points from Sharde' Collins and 12 from Alexius Dawn.

PAINT DOMINATION
Little Rock controlled the paint completely in its game against Arkansas State on Tuesday, scoring 46 points in the paint to just 24 for the Red Wolves. Little Rock also managed to outrebound Arkansas State by 11, winning that category 40-29. The Trojans' rebounding margin of +2.9 is second-best in the Sun Belt, and that number jumps to +6.5 when looking at league-only games.
 
DEFENSIVE JUGGERNAUTS
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 Wednesday morning, the Trojans' 54.6 points per game allowed ranks 23rd in the entire nation. The Trojans have not allowed an opponent to breach 50 points in seven of the last eight games, holding teams to an average of 46.3 points per game in that span.
 
MOST MINUTES
Little Rock junior Sharde' Collins tied a career high on Tuesday, playing all 40 minutes of the game against the Red Wolves. Collins' previous career high in minutes played was also 40, set at Georgia State on Feb. 18.
 
JAMES ON A SCORING ROLL
Shanity James has been on an amazing scoring streak of late, reaching at least 10 points in 11 of the last 12 games and leading the Trojans in scoring in all but two of those games. James has topped the Trojans in scoring in 14 games this year and is currently on a four-game streak of leading the team. She has scored in double figures in 23 total games out of 26 she has played in.
 
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Dating back to January 2013, the Trojans have an incredible home-court advantage at the Jack Stephens Center for Sun Belt Conference games. Little Rock has posted victories in 33 of its last 34 home league games in that span, with the only blemish being a loss to Louisiana in early January of this year. The Trojans have now won nine straight games at the Jack Stephens Center since that loss.
 
PERFECT FEBRUARY
With its win on Saturday over Texas State, the Trojans made it a clean sweep of the month of February. Little Rock went 8-0 in the year's shortest month and have not lost since Jan. 21.
 
12 IN A ROW
The Trojans' victory against Arkansas State extended its season-long winning streak to 12 games. Little Rock's longest winning streak in 2014-15 lasted for 10 games. Little Rock has not had a winning streak this long since 2012-13. Little Rock's winning streak is now the 13th-longest in the nation.
 
#2 SEED CLINCHED
Little Rock clinched the No. 2 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament with its win against Texas State on Saturday. The Trojans are now guaranteed to play the No. 7 seed in the tournament's first day, March 8 at 5 p.m. at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. Little Rock would not have to meet Arkansas State until the championship game. The No. 2 seed also assured Little Rock an automatic berth to the WNIT if the Red Wolves win the conference tournament.
 
HOLDING TEAMS UNDER 60
A trend has emerged in 15 of the Trojans' 17 victories this year: in those 15 victories, the Trojans' opponent has scored under 60 points. Little Rock is now 15-1 in games this year where the opponent has fewer than 60 points. When the Trojans' opponent scores 60 or more, Little Rock drops to 2-10.
 
CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Against Arkansas State:

• Alexius Dawn picked up her 200th assist.
• Shanity James scored her 1,300th point, got her 500th made field goal and her 800th rebound. She also moved up to fifth all-time in Trojan history in scoring.
• Kaitlyn Pratt scored her 600th point.
• Monique Townson played in her 1,000th career minute.

Coming soon:

• Sharde' Collins needs five more assists for 100.
• Three more free throws made would be 300 in Shanity James' her career. Eight more defensive rebounds would give her 500.
• Monique Townson will reach 200 points with 5 more.

 
UP NEXT
Little Rock's next opponent will be in the Sun Belt Tournament on Wednesday. The Trojans, as the No. 2 seed, are set to take on the No. 7 seed at 5 p.m. on that day. Little Rock's opponent has yet to be determined.