Trojans Ready for Postseason WNIT at Southern Miss

Postseason WNIT: Little Rock (24-8) at Southern Miss (20-13)
Date	Wednesday, March 15
Time	6 p.m.
Location	Hattiesburg, Miss.
Stadium	Reed Green Coliseum
Stats	Gametracker
Audio	KARN The Sports Animal
Notes	Little Rock

LITTLE ROCK – The Little Rock women's basketball team has made the national postseason for nine of the last 10 years, and this year's edition of postseason play sees them in the WNIT for the fifth time in history.
 
Little Rock will face Southern Miss on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the WNIT First Round, seeking their first ever victory in the tournament.
 
The Trojans failed to claim an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament on Monday night, but Little Rock earned an automatic spot in the WNIT by virtue of winning the Sun Belt regular-season title.
 
Little Rock is in the Postseason WNIT for the second straight year. Last season, the Trojans lost in the first round at Saint Louis. Little Rock is 0-4 lifetime in the Postseason WNIT.
 
Southern Miss made it to the Postseason WNIT as an at-large team. The Golden Eagles ended the season with a 23-10 record, losing in the Conference USA Championship Game to Western Kentucky.
 
Britta Dinkins is Southern Miss' leading scorer, posting 18.4 points per game. She is joined in double-figure scoring by Jayla King's 10.4 points per game. King is also the team's top rebounder with 6.9 boards per game.
 
In non-conference play, Southern Miss defeated Sun Belt schools South Alabama and Louisiana.  The Golden Eagles have an RPI of 102 and score 70.5 points per game.
 
Little Rock and Southern Miss have met once before in the WNIT back in 2008. That was Little Rock's first ever postseason game as a program. The Trojans are 7-4 lifetime against the Golden Eagles but lost the teams' most recent meeting in 2013.
 
A victory against Southern Miss on Wednesday will pit the Trojans against either Alabama or Mercer this weekend in the WNIT Second 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 top-seeded Trojans were upset in the Sun Belt Semifinals by No. 5 seed Louisiana. That loss knocked Little Rock out of NCAA Tournament contention, but the Trojans earned an automatic bid into the WNIT.
• This is Little Rock's fifth appearance in the Postseason WNIT all-time, all since 2008. Little Rock is 0-4 lifetime in the Postseason WNIT including 0-3 on the road.
• Little Rock senior Sharde' Collins was named the Sun Belt Player of the Year on 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 55.0 points per game, a number that puts the Trojans 12th in the nation as of Tuesday morning.
• The Trojans are receiving three points in the AP Poll this week and two points in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
• Little Rock has the highest RPI in the Sun Belt this season, ranking 48th in the nation as of Tuesday morning.
• The Trojans have won seven of 11 total games lifetime against Southern Miss.