LITTLE ROCK – A spot in the Sun Belt Championship Game is just one win away for the Trojan women's basketball team, and they'll look to earn that spot on Saturday evening.
No. 1 seed Little Rock will face No. 5 seed Louisiana at Lakefront Arena in the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals at 5 p.m. The winner will advance to the league's championship game for a chance at an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Saturday's game will be aired live on ESPN3.
The Trojans reached Saturday's game with a 16-point victory over No. 9 seed Appalachian State on Thursday evening.
Kaitlyn Pratt led the Trojans in scoring with 20 points, and
Monique Townson set a new career high with 19 points while dishing out seven assists and having no turnovers.
Little Rock trailed in that game midway through the second quarter, but a timeout gave Little Rock a chance to regroup. They went on a 7-0 run after that and regained their composure, eventually bringing their lead up to double digits by the end of the third quarter.
Saturday will be Little Rock's 10th straight appearance in the Sun Belt semifinals. A win on Saturday would put the Trojans in the Sun Belt Championship Game for the third consecutive season.
Little Rock has now won six straight games and is receiving some national attention. The Trojans earned three points in the Associated Press poll released on Monday, placing in the poll for the first time all year. Little Rock is also up to nine points in the USA Today Coaches Poll and up to No. 11 in the Mid Major Top 25.
For the Cajuns, Jaylyn Gordon was an All-Sun Belt First Team player who averages 17.9 points per game. Simone Fields also earned a postseason honor from the league and scores 14.6 points per game. Fields is the Cajuns' leading rebounder with 7.2 boards per game.
Louisiana reached the semifinals with an upset win over No. 4 Texas State on Thursday. The Cajuns got a game-winning shot from Fields with under two seconds left in the game after Texas State tied the game with a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining.
Little Rock has won four consecutive games against Louisiana dating back to last year's Sun Belt Tournament when the Trojans ended the Cajuns' NCAA Tournament hopes by knocking them out of the tournament in this same semifinal round.
TIP OFF
- Little Rock ended the Sun Belt regular season with a 17-1 record, winning the league's regular-season championship for the second time in three years. The Trojans won their first 12 league games in a row and their final five.
- The Trojans won their sixth straight game on Thursday with a 69-53 showing against Appalachian State in the Sun Belt quarterfinals.
- Little Rock has now reached the league tournament semifinals for 10 straight years.
- Little Rock senior Sharde' Collins was named the Sun Belt Player of the Year on Monday and earned a spot on the league's First Team. Coach Joe Foley was named Coach of the Year for the fourth time and Kaitlyn Pratt was also on the First Team.
- Little Rock is allowing just 54.2 points per game, a number that puts the Trojans ninth in the nation as of Friday morning.
- The Trojans are receiving three points in the AP Poll this week, nine points in the USA Today Coaches Poll and are ranked No. 11 in this week's Mid Major Top 25.
- Little Rock has the highest RPI in the Sun Belt this season, ranking 45th in the nation as of Friday morning.
- The Trojans have won four straight against Louisiana including last season's tournament semifinal at Lakefront Arena.
Sun Belt Championship ticket booklets are on sale now for $120 through the Little Rock Ticket Office. Contact
Casey Page at
501.565.8257 with questions or to make your purchase.
Single-session tickets, which allow access to the two games listed in the session (except for the championship games), can be purchased for $15 each at the Lakefront Arena ticket office or on TicketMaster.com. Kids' tickets (ages 3-12) are also available for just $5 – which also includes a hot dog and soft drink. Children ages two and under are admitted free but must be accompanied by an adult.
