ARLINGTON, Texas – After struggling offensively for 30 minutes, the Little Rock women's basketball team caught fire in the fourth quarter.
First-place Little Rock scored 28 points in the final period to come from behind and defeat second-place UT Arlington 58-49 at College Park Center on Thursday afternoon.
The Trojans (18-6, 12-0 Sun Belt Conference) shot just 27.3 percent from the field in the first half but recovered to shoot 50 percent (13 of 26) from the field in the second half against the Mavericks (15-6, 8-3) and 71.4 percent (10 of 14) in the decisive fourth quarter.
The Trojans outscored UTA 28-17 in the final period.
Little Rock is now 12-0 in conference play for the first time in program history, breaking the team's record of 11 straight wins to begin conference play set in 2010-11.
Sharde' Collins led the way for Little Rock's offense with 17 points, and
Kyra Collier was close behind with 14 points and a game-best nine rebounds while also adding three steals.
Ronjanae DeGray scored in double figures with 10 points.
Little Rock also held Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year Rebekah VanDijk to just 6 points and six rebounds, well below her averages in both categories.
At the start of the fourth quarter, UTA held a 32-30 lead. A Collins and-1 play gave the Trojans a 33-32 lead, but the Mavericks jumped back out to a 2-point lead with a 3-pointer before
Kaitlyn Pratt tied things at 35-35 with a layup.
From there, UTA went on a 6-0 run to make it 41-35 with seven minutes to play. But the Trojans answered with a huge run of their own, scoring the next 8 points to go ahead 43-41 with 5:21 left. The Mavericks fought to re-tie the game at 43-43, but Little Rock pulled away for good next with 4 straight points on a Collier layup and two Collier free throws.
The Mavericks hit a 3-pointer to make it 47-46, but the Trojans expanded their lead to 8 points with 36 seconds remaining with an 8-1 run over a 2:30 span. Collins hit a jumper and a layup, and DeGray did the same to provide those eight Trojan points.
Little Rock has now won 11 consecutive Sun Belt games on the road and seven straight games against UTA since the Mavericks joined the Sun Belt. Little Rock has also now won 25 consecutive Sun Belt Conference regular-season games dating back to last season.
The first half saw both defenses shine, with UT Arlington holding a narrow 21-19 edge at the break. The Mavericks' press kept the Trojans from taking open shots and forced 10 Little Rock turnovers, but UTA was only able to score 2 points off those 10 turnovers as Little Rock got back on defense.
The teams combined to shoot just 32 percent in the first half as the Trojans finished 6 of 22 from the field and the Mavericks went 8 of 21. Little Rock stayed close thanks to seven free throws including four from Pratt.
Little Rock is off to Texas State next for a Saturday clash with the Bobcats. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
