Trojans Extend Winning Streak Against Rival A-State

LITTLE ROCK – The winning streak continued for Little Rock women's basketball as it knocked off rival Arkansas State 53-43 to earn its seventh consecutive victory on Saturday afternoon at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
The win tied head coach Joe Foley with Arkansas State's Brian Boyer for the most all-time Sun Belt victories at 180. The Trojans remained undefeated against the Red Wolves at the Jack Stephens Center as they pushed their record to 13-0. Little Rock has now won 12 consecutive conference games dating back to last season and 22 consecutive Sun Belt games at the Jack.
 
Ronjanae DeGray continued her impressive play off the bench with a game-high 16 points to go along with seven rebounds for Little Rock (10-8, 7-0 Sun Belt) in 32 minutes. Keanna Keys was the Trojans' second-leading scorer with 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Tori Lasker had a game-high five assists with seven points and two three-pointers. Monique Townson led the game with eight rebounds while scoring seven and picking up two assists. Little Rock was 19-for-49 (38.8%) from the field, 3-for-7 from three (42.9%) and 12-for-21 (57.1%) from the foul line.
 
Akasha Westbrook led Arkansas State (9-9, 4-3 Sun Belt) with 15 points and was the Red Wolves' lone scorer in double figures. Lauren Bradshaw led A-State with five rebounds and four blocks. The Red Wolves went 14-for-48 (29.2%) from the field, 2-for-6 (33.3%) from three and 13-for-18 (72.2%) from the charity stripe.
 
Although A-State outscored Little Rock 17-8 in the final 10 minutes, the Trojans' established lead was enough to keep the Red Wolves at bay. Westbrook put up seven of her 15 points in the period while Keys' tallied half of the Trojans' eight points.
 
The Trojans dominated the third quarter with an 18-7 advantage. Little Rock's shot was hot at 53.8 percent (7-for-13) while A-State was ice cold at 15.4 percent (2-for-13). The Trojans began the period with a 16-3 run over the Red Wolves. Lasker led the quarter by picking up all seven of her points for the game. Little Rock took its largest lead of the game at 22 points with 16 seconds left in the quarter as Townson made a jumper.
 
Little Rock outscored Arkansas State 19-12 in the second period to take a 27-19 lead to the locker room. The Trojans shot 46.2 percent (6-for-13) from the field and were 6-for-9 from the foul line. The Red Wolves shot 44.4 percent (4-for-9). Tied at 12, Little Rock went on a 7-0 run with two three-point plays by Moore and Townson and a free throw by Raeyana DeGray.
 
It was a low-scoring first quarter as the Trojans edged the Red Wolves 8-7. Baskets were hard to come by as Little Rock was 4-for-14 (28.6%) and Arkansas State was 3-for-13 (23.1%). Ronjanae DeGray led the quarter with six points off the bench.
 
Terrion Moore finished the game with six points, five rebounds and two steals, and Raeyana DeGray had six boards with two points and two steals.
 
Of Little Rock's 19 baskets, 13 were accompanied by an assist. Arkansas State had just four assists for the game — the lowest total by a Little Rock opponent this season.
 
The first-place Trojans will now put their undefeated Sun Belt record on the line at Appalachian State on Thursday. Opening tip is scheduled for 4 p.m. (CT) on ESPN3.