LITTLE ROCK – The regular season enters its final week on Thursday when the Little Rock women's basketball team heads down to Mobile, Ala., to take on South Alabama at 5 p.m.
Already the Sun Belt Conference regular-season champions, the Trojans will look to end the regular season with a five-game winning streak heading into the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Little Rock will be the No. 1 seed in that tournament for the second time in three years.
While Little Rock's high-powered offense that began Sun Belt play has slowed in recent weeks, the Trojans are still winning games thanks to a staunch defense. Little Rock has allowed just 54.3 points per game this season, a number that ranks the Trojans ninth in the nation as of Tuesday morning.
The Trojans have been especially stingy on defense over the last six games, allowing just 44.0 points per game in that span and not allowing any individual opponent to break 50 points. Over the last three games, Little Rock's opponents have scored an average of just 40.3 points per game.
That defense combined with two wins last week could be why the Trojans moved up from No. 19 to No. 16 in this week's Mid Major Top 25 poll. And when the USA Today Coaches Poll was released on Tuesday afternoon, Little Rock saw its points received increase from two to three, tying its largest total of the year.
The Trojans will be bringing that defense and those rankings to South Alabama on Thursday. South Alabama holds a 9-18 record on the season and is 4-12 in the Sun Belt Conference. In the standings, South Alabama is tied for 10th place. Most recently, the Jaguars were swept on their trip to Texas, falling by 16 points to Texas State and 12 to UT Arlington.
Chyna Ellis is South Alabama's only player in double-figure scoring, averaging 10.9 points per game. She is also the team's leading rebounder with 7.9 boards per game and the top blocker in the Sun Belt with 3.0 blocks per game.
Colby Davis is second on the team in scoring with 9.7 points per game, and Genesis Perrymond is third with 6.7 points per game. As a team, the Jaguars have the third-best scoring defense in the conference, allowing just 58.3 points per game.
TIP OFF
- Little Rock clinched the Sun Belt regular-season championship on Saturday with its win over Georgia State. Little Rock has now claimed the outright league title two of the last three years. The Trojans will be the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament in New Orleans.
- Little Rock is allowing just 54.3 points per game, a number that puts the Trojans ninth in the nation as of Tuesday morning.
- Little Rock has reached the 12-win threshold in the Sun Belt for 11 consecutive years.
- The Trojans are receiving three votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll and are ranked No. 16 in this week's Mid Major Top 25.
- Little Rock has the highest RPI in the Sun Belt this season, ranking 49th in the nation as of Monday morning.
- The Trojans have won five straight games against South Alabama dating back to January 2015. All-time, Little Rock leads the series 15-12.
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.
