Little Rock, Coastal Set to Meet for First Time

Game 15: Little Rock (8-6, 2-0) at Coastal Carolina (5-7, 0-2)
Date	Thursday, January 5
Time	6 p.m. CST
Location	Conway, S.C.
Stadium	The HTC Center
Stats	Statbroadcast
Audio	KARN The Sports Animal
Video	Little Rock All-Access
Notes	Little Rock

LITTLE ROCK – One of just two 2-0 teams in the Sun Belt Conference, Little Rock will look to extend that record to 3-0 on Thursday when it travels to new league member Coastal Carolina for the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

The Trojans will be seeking their first 3-0 start in league play since the 2014-15 season and their seventh consecutive road win in the conference regular season.
 
Little Rock earned its 2-0 start to league play last weekend, defeating Louisiana in come-from-behind fashion on Thursday and then blowing out ULM on Saturday.
 
Against the Warhawks, Little Rock's offense and defense were both operating at high levels. The Trojans scored a season-high 78 points and held the Warhawks to just 34, a low for any Little Rock opponent this season. The 44-point margin of victory was Little Rock's largest since 2013.
 
Kyra Collier nearly had a triple-double in the game, recording 13 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Those nine assists were a career high for Collier and a single-game high for any Trojan this year. As a team, Little Rock posted 25 assists for the first time since 2010. Only one triple-double has ever been recorded in program history.
 
Little Rock's defense continues to excel, as the Trojans are allowing just 53.7 points per game, in the top 20 nationally. Little Rock has also been very strong at the free-throw line this season, placing in the top 20 in the country with a team free-throw percentage of .767. That number is tops in the Sun Belt this season.
 
Coastal Carolina comes into Thursday's matchup with a 5-7 overall record and an 0-2 start in the Sun Belt. New members of the league in 2016-17, the Chanticleers began their conference season with losses at Texas State and UT Arlington last weekend. Leading scorer Rachael Gregory did not play in those games.
 
Coastal ranks No. 258 in the nation in RPI as of Tuesday morning, compared to the Trojans' No. 68 national ranking. Gregory averages 14.7 points per game, and she is joined in double figures by Ced Gibson's 13.6 and Kennedy Archer's 10.5 points per game. Gibson is second in the conference with 4.0 assists per game and third in the league with 2.5 steals per game.
 
TIP OFF

• Little Rock swept the opening weekend of Sun Belt play, coming from behind to beat Louisiana on Thursday and then dominating ULM on Saturday.
• The Trojans came back from a 15-point deficit in the first quarter against the Cajuns on Thursday to win.
• Little Rock had its largest margin of victory in three years against ULM, defeating the Warhawks by 44 points.
• Kyra Collier was three assists away from a triple-double against the Ragin' Cajuns and one rebound and one assists shy of a triple-double against ULM.
• The Trojans did not allow ULM to score a point in the first quarter and held the Warhawks to only 9 total points in the first half to tie a program record for fewest points allowed in a half.
• The Trojans played four major-conference opponents in non-league play this season, losing all four of those games. Despite losing, Little Rock was competitive in all four games through halftime.
• Little Rock was picked to finish second in Sun Belt Conference play in the league's preseason coaches poll.
• The Trojans have never played against Coastal Carolina.

           
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.