Trojans Tussle With WKU in Homecoming Doubleheader

Game 7: WKU
Date	Saturday, December 1, 2018
Time	5:30 p.m.
Location	Little Rock, Ark.
Arena	Jack Stephens Center
Records	Little Rock (2-4) WKU (3-6)
Watch	Little Rock All Access
Listen	920 AM The Sports Animal
Live Stats	TrojanStats.com
Notes	Little Rock | WKU

The Tipoff
The Little Rock Trojans, sitting at 2-4 on the year after a running through three straight SEC teams, host former Sun Belt foe WKU on Saturday, Dec. 1, in a Homecoming doubleheader at 5:30 p.m. The contest with the Lady Toppers is just one of two home games for the Trojans in the month of December.
 
Full Size Run
This will be the 30^th meeting between the two programs, the first since WKU left the Sun Belt for Conference USA. The Trojans last met the Lady Toppers on March 14, 2014 in the semifinal of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. WKU come out on top 66-62 on a neutral court, but Little Rock was the victor, 58-51, the last time the two played in the Jack Stephens Center on Feb. 8 of the same year.
 
Double-Double, No Toast, Well Done Fries
Little Rock Senior Ronjanae DeGray started the season with five consecutive games with double-figuring scoring outputs. She went on a run last year, starting against LSU, that spanned 16 games where she logged 10 or more points. Teal Battle also logged 10 points against Texas A&M, collecting 10 or more points in back-to-back contests for the first time in her career. Yanina Inkina put up 14 points at LSU, marking her first double-digit scoring game of the season and the seventh of her career, registering the most points she scored since marking a career-high 15 points at South Alabama. She followed that performance with 11 against Mississippi State, establishing her first career run of back-to-back games with more than 10 points.  
 
Ball Don't Lie, It Always Tells the Truth
Sydney Chastain and Yanina Inknina both fouled out against Mississippi State. Their disqualifications mark the first time Little Rock has had multiple players foul out since a Jan. 19 contest against North Texas in the 2005-2006 season.
 
This my day, lucky you
Junior guard Kyra Collier exploded for a career-high 31 points at Louisiana Tech. She broke her previous record of 23 that was sent against Memphis last season. The North Little Rock product is the first Trojan to have a 30+ point since Taylor Gault's 31-point outbreak vs. Oral Roberts on Nov. 21 of 2012. Collier also recorded a perfect outing at the charity stripe, going eight-for-eight. In the squad's next game against FAU, Sydney Chastain set a few career marks when scoring five points and grabbing six rebounds. Her three steals were also the first of her collegiate career. Yanina Inkina tied her career-record for three-pointers with her pair she made against the Owls. The career setting trend continued against Rice. Teal Battle had a 19-point explosion against Rice Chastain topped her career-high again, this time recording eight points six of them coming from beyond the arc. Kiara Scott also etched a new career-high with six points, all of them coming from the three-point line. Scott followed up her career-performance by matching it in the exact same manor against Texas A&M. It's the first time in her career where she's logged back-to-back games with more than one field goal. Scott showed up her on court performances against Rice and Texas A&M at LSU. The senior scored a career-high seven points in the first start of her career. Continuing the career-high trend, freshman Antwainette Walker sank four field goals from the field and six free throws, totaling 14 points. She's the first freshman this season to set a career-high that's double-digits and the underclassman to do it the quickest since Tori Lasker poured in 21 points in the opening game of the 2017-2018 season.
 
Goose It!
The Trojans attempted zero free throws against Rice during the first half. This is the fewest in a half since also not going to the charity stripe in the first have against Appalachian State last season on Feb. 24.
 
Putting That Pen on Some Paper Over Here.
Little Rock added five players for 2019-2020 season during the early signing period. The recruiting class is made up of Alayzha Knapp from Union High School in Tulsa, Okla., Angelique Francis from MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas, Nicole Hemphill from O'Connor High School in San Antonio, Texas, Kiana Anderson from Warren Easton High School in New Orleans, La. and Skyla Knight from Hoover High School in Hoover, Ala.
 
The Results Are In
The Trojans were voted No. 1 in the Sun Belt's preseason poll, receiving eight first-place first and accumulating 133 points overall. Right behind Little Rock was Troy, 131 points, getting four first place votes. The rest of the pool shook out as follows: Texas State, UTA, Arkansas State, South Alabama, Louisiana, Coastal Carolina, Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State and ULM.
 
What's Cooler Than Being Cool?
Trojan senior Ronjanae DeGray was picked as the conference's Preseason Player of the Year along with being selected to the First-Team All-Conference squad. DeGray, coming off a season where she averaged 13.8 points, 5.6 boards and .508 shooting from the floor, is the returning statistical leader for numerous categories. The Odessa, Texas native was a Sun Belt Conference First Team selection for the regular season and conference tournament, started 11 contests and appeared in 32 games. She tallied her first career double-double by tying her season high with 23 points while putting up a career-high 13 rebounds in the Trojans' overtime win at Louisiana on March 3.
 
Let Me See You Run It, Run It
Sophomore Tori Lasker received preseason recognition alongside DeGray, being selected third-team. Lasker saw the most playing time out of any freshman last season. She started 24 games and was one of only four Trojans to appear in all 33 contests. She drained a freshman record-setting 57 three-pointers, the sixth most in a single season, and dished out the second most assists, 89. Against Memphis, Lasker registered 21 points in her first collegiate game, a program record for a freshman debut.
 
I Will Try To Be Worthy of My Post
Joe Foley, the 2010, 2011, 2015, 2017 and 2018 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year and 2010 Russell Athletic/WBCA Regional Coach of the Year, has led the Little Rock Women's Basketball program to 20-win seasons 11 of the last 12 years, outright Sun Belt Conference West Division titles in the final six years the Sun Belt had divisions, three Sun Belt regular-season championships, post-season appearances in 10 of the last 11 years – including five NCAA berths – and Sun Belt Conference Tournament titles in 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2018. Foley has recorded a 768-244 (.759) career record and a 312-163 (.657) record at Little Rock as he begins his 16th season in 2018-19. Considered by many to be the best coaching job of his career, Foley led the Trojans back to the NCAA Tournament in 2017-18. Little Rock began the season with a 3-8 record in non-conference play with a signature win over Oklahoma at home. After the rough start, the Trojans found their groove in conference play as they tallied their second consecutive Sun Belt Regular-Season Championship after going 17-1 in conference play for the second straight year. This earned Foley his fifth Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year award — the second-most in league history. The Trojans went on to defeat Texas State by one point in the Sun Belt Tournament Championship to secure their fourth league tournament title and fifth NCAA Tournament bid. Ronjanae DeGray earned All-Sun Belt First Team honors while seniors Keanna Keys and Monique Townson took Third Team honors.
 
Welcome, Welcome Newbies.
Gabby Dodson and Antwainette Walker join the team as part of the 2018-19 recruiting class and Krystan Vornes comes to Little Rock as a transfer from Tulsa. Dodson is a versatile 6-1 post from Fontainebleau High School in Mandeville, Louisiana.  During her high school career, Dodson has been a First Team All-District player and has averaged 14.8 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game. Dodson has a 4.14 grade point average and plans to major in business administration at Little Rock. Walker is a 5-11 guard from Wheaton, Illinois, and currently plays at St. Francis High School.  According to ESPN, Walker is a three-star recruit and ranks 109th nationally at her position. Over the course of her high school career, Walker has averaged 17.3 points per game, 9.2 rebounds per game and 3.7 steals per game.  During her junior season, Walker scored over 1,000 points for St. Francis. Walker is a three-time DuPage All-Area Team member, a two-time All-State Honorable Mention, a three-time Lisle Holiday All-Tournament Team member and a two-time Willow Brook All-Tournament Team member. Vornes did not play her true freshman season and will not be eligible to compete until after the fall 2018 semester due to transfer rules. She was rated as a three-star recruit by ESPN and ranked as the 65th-best forward nationally in her class out of high school. She averaged 18.4 points, 12.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in her senior year at Osceola High School. Vornes played her freshman through junior seasons at East Poinsett County High School... During her sophomore season, she posted 20.8 points and 16.0 rebounds per game, and picked up 3A All-State and All-Conference accolades.