LITTLE ROCK – With its longest winning streak of the season now broken, the Little Rock women's basketball team is looking to start another winning streak when it travels to Arkansas State on Friday. Tipoff between the rival Trojans and Red Wolves is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
Fans unable to make the trip to Jonesboro can watch the contest live on ESPN3
at this link.
When they last played, the Trojans' saw their 12-game winning streak and perfect Sun Belt Conference record come to an end with a loss at Texas State. The Trojan offense struggled to make baskets, and Texas State set a program record for field goal percentage as they pulled away starting in the second quarter.
Despite the loss, though, Little Rock maintained its two-game lead in the conference over second-place Troy and UT Arlington. Both of those teams currently have three conference losses while the Trojans have just one.
Little Rock remains the highest-ranked Sun Belt Conference team in the Mid Major Top 25, clocking in at No. 19 this week. And the Trojans' RPI of 44 as of Thursday morning is also the highest in the Sun Belt by a considerable margin.
The Trojans' defense continues to be a huge reason for its success. In 25 games this season, Little Rock is allowing just 56.0 points per game. That number is tops in the Sun Belt and puts the Trojans 21st in the nation.
Little Rock is also having a tremendous season at the free-throw line. The Trojans struggled at the free-throw line last year, going just 67.8 percent from the charity stripe as a team and placing eighth in the conference out of 11 teams. This season, the Trojans are sinking 74.5 percent of their free throws on the season and are ranked first in the Sun Belt in that category.
Friday will be the second game of the year for Little Rock against Arkansas State. In the last game at the Jack Stephens Center in January, Little Rock came away with a 73-59 victory. The Trojans have now won two straight games over their in-state rivals.
The Red Wolves are 5-20 on the season and have a 3-10 record in the Sun Belt. The Red Wolves rank 323rd in the country in RPI.
Jada Ford is Arkansas State's leading scorer, averaging 11.9 points per game. Dominique Oliver is second on the team with 11.3 points per game, and Akasha Westbrook is third with 10.1 points per game. Rebounding, Lauren Bradshaw leads the way with 6.4 boards per game while Tahlon Hopkins averages 5.1 boards per game.
The Red Wolves are the top 3-point shooting team in the Sun Belt, averaging 34.8 percent from beyond the arc.
TIP OFF
- Little Rock remains in first place in the Sun Belt Conference standings with five games left to play. The Trojans had won 12 consecutive games before Texas State snapped its streak on Saturday.
- Little Rock has reached the 12-win threshold in the Sun Belt for 11 consecutive years.
- The Trojans are ranked No. 19 in this week's Mid Major Top 25.
- The Trojan offense is scoring 72.2 points per conference game, second-best in the Sun Belt and best in program history for any single season.
- Little Rock has the highest RPI in the Sun Belt this season, ranking 44th in the nation as of Wednesday morning.
- The Trojans have won two straight games against Arkansas State and are 17-7 against the Red Wolves since 2006.
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.
