Trojans Seeking Program-Best League Start Saturday

Game 23: Little Rock (16-6, 10-0 SBC) vs. Coastal Carolina (9-11, 4-6 SBC)
Date	February 4, 2017
Time	4 p.m.
Location	Little Rock, Ark.
Stadium	Jack Stephens Center
Stats	Statbroadcast
Audio	KARN The Sports Animal
Video	Little Rock All-Access
Notes	Little Rock

LITTLE ROCK – The Trojan women's basketball team will have a program record in its sights on Saturday when Coastal Carolina comes to the Jack Stephens Center for a 4 p.m. tipoff.
 
Saturday's game is part of Lettermen's and Hall of Fame Weekend with former Trojans coming back to Little Rock for the annual Hall of Fame induction ceremonies and other festivities for lettermen. The contest against Coastal will also feature a Bale Shot 4 A Car, Bowen Law Night and Greek Night as well as the Kids Zone on Derek Fisher Court.
 
After a victory on Thursday over Appalachian State, Little Rock has now won 10 consecutive conference games to begin Sun Belt play. The Trojans' record for most wins to begin league play is 11 set by the 2010-11 team. A victory over the Chanticleers on Saturday would tie that team for the program record.
 
Little Rock's win over Appalachian State was also a big milestone win for the Trojans: the 400th in program history dating back to 1969. Little Rock has now also won at least 10 games in Sun Belt play in each of the last 11 seasons.
 
The Trojans' offense failed to break 70 points for the first time in more than a month on Thursday, but Little Rock still had enough to beat the Mountaineers by 12 points. Kaitlyn Pratt scored 22, Ronjanae DeGray and Kyra Collier had 13 apiece, and the Trojans held on for a win after the Mountaineers made a push late in the fourth quarter.
 
Little Rock began to attract some national attention this week. The Trojans entered this weekend's games receiving a single vote in the USA Today Coaches Poll for the first time since the 2015-16 preseason edition of the poll.
 
Little Rock is also ranked in the Mid Major Top 25 for the first time all year, coming in at No. 25 in this week's edition of the poll. The Trojans were last ranked in the Mid Major Top 25 in December 2015.
 
The Chanticleers will try to prevent Little Rock from tying the program record for consecutive wins to begin a Sun Belt season. The Chanticleers have the fourth-best offense in the conference, averaging 63.8 points per game. They also have the fifth-highest field-goal percentage in the league at .380. Coastal has a national RPI of 249 as of Friday morning and is tied for seventh in the conference standings.
 
Guard Ced Gibson is near the top of the league in steals and assists, tallying 3.3 assists per game (fifth in the Sun Belt) and 2.5 steals per game (third). Kennedy Archer is also fourth in the league in steals (2.1 per game). Gibson leads the team with 13.7 points per game, and Rachael Gregory is close to that with 13.0 points per game. Alexis Robinson is tied for third in the Sun Belt in rebounds per game with 9.4.
 
TIP OFF

• Little Rock has won 10 consecutive games and stands alone in first place in the Sun Belt Conference.
• The Trojans' 10-game winning streak is tied for the ninth-longest active streak in the nation.
• Thursday's win over Appalachian State was the 400th in team history. The Trojans have now won at least 10 Sun Belt games for 11 straight years.
• Little Rock received a vote in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll, and the Trojans are ranked No. 25 in this week's Mid Major Top 25.
• The Trojan offense is scoring 75.5 points per conference game, second-best in the Sun Belt and best in program history for any single season.
• Sharde' Collins was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week for the second consecutive week on Monday.
• Little Rock has the second-highest RPI in the Sun Belt this season, ranking 58th in the nation as of Friday morning.
• The Trojans have won 15 consecutive conference games at home are 1-0 lifetime 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.