Trojans Make it 10 Straight With Victory Over App

LITTLE ROCK – The Trojan women's basketball team survived a late scare from Appalachian State, holding on to win 67-55 at the Jack Stephens Center on Thursday night and moved to 10-0 in conference play.
 
Little Rock (16-6, 10-0 Sun Belt Conference) were leading by as many as 18 points early in the third quarter, but Appalachian State (8-13, 3-7) cut that lead down to just six points with six minutes to play at 52-46.
 
From there, though, Little Rock responded with a layup by Sharde' Collins and two consecutive jumpers by Ronjanae DeGray over a three-minute span, boosting the Trojans' lead to a safer 12 points with three minutes on the clock. The Mountaineers never got closer than 9 again as the Trojans earned their second-best start to conference play in team history with their 10th straight victory.
 
Kaitlyn Pratt led Little Rock's offense with 22 points on 10 of 13 shooting from the field, and Kyra Collier and DeGray tied for second in scoring with 13 points apiece. Pratt led the Trojans with eight rebounds while DeGray, Collier and Carolee Dillard had five each. Collier was the team's top passer with six assists, and Monique Townson had five and four steals.
 
Little Rock is now 6-0 lifetime against Appalachian State and have won 15 consecutive conference games at the Jack Stephens Center. Little Rock moved 1.5 games ahead of second-place UT Arlington in the conference standings with eight games to play.
 
The Trojans began Thursday's game slowly, with the Mountaineers holding a 17-14 lead through the first quarter. But the Little Rock offense and defense both got going in the second quarter as the Trojans outscored the Mountaineers 19-7. Little Rock shot 53.8 percent from the field and held App State to just 3 of 16 from the floor in the quarter.
 
At halftime, Collier had 9 points and four assists to lead Little Rock in both categories while Pratt tallied 8 points and seven rebounds.
 
In the third, Little Rock gained on Appalachian State early, starting the period with a 12-3 run to push its lead to 18 points. That's when the Mountaineers slowly started chipping away before the Trojans put them away for good.
 
Little Rock will look to tie the program record for consecutive wins to begin Sun Belt play on Saturday when Coastal Carolina comes to the Jack Stephens Center. The women's game tips at 4 p.m. with the men's game against the Chanticleers to follow.