Little Rock Women Open Sun Belt Play at UT Arlington

Games 8-9 at UT Arlington
Game 8: UTA	Friday, Jan. 1, 2021 | 1 p.m. CT | Arlington, Texas | Fant-Ewing Coliseum
	ESPN+ | Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Tickets
Game 9: UTA	Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021 | 4 p.m. CT | Arlington, Texas | College Park Center
	ESPN+ | Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Tickets
Full Game Notes	Little Rock
Series History
	UTA: LR leads, 10-4 | Series History | Last game: UTA won, 62-46, on 2/15/2020 in Little Rock, Ark. [Recap | Stats] | Streak: Lost 2
Social Media	@LittleRockWBB | #LittleRocksTeam | Facebook | @LittleRockWBB | YouTube

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Friday begins a new year and a new slate awaits the Trojans as Little Rock will open Sun Belt play with back-to-back games at UT Arlington.
 
The two teams will meet Friday at 1 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Ron Thulin (play-by-play) and Mike Peterson (analyst) calling the action while Trey Schaap will have the call on the Little Rock Trojans Radio Network (920AM The Sports Animal).
 
Series History

• Little Rock leads the overall series, 10-4, with a 5-2 mark in Arlington.
• This will be the 15th meeting between the Trojans and the Mavericks in a series that dates back to 2004.
• UTA won the first two meetings but Little Rock has won 10 of the last 12 meetings since.
• Six of the last eight meetings have all been decided by less than 10 points with four of those eight being decided by one possession (four points or less).
• Each of the past five meetings in Arlington have been decided by 10 points or less.

 
Five Things to Know

1. Texas Two-Step Tips Off New Format
   This weekend is not only the start of a new year and start of the conference portion of play, but it also is the start of a new format. As part of the protocols the Sun Belt has instituted this year due to the COVID pandemic, league teams will play in back-to-back days against the same opponent.
2. Trojans in Conference Openers
   Little Rock has won six straight conference openers but its fortunes in the first league game of the season has been a recent wave of success. Overall, Little Rock is 10-15 all-time in conference openers while compiling a 10-11 record in Sun Belt openers. Joe Foley, currently in his 18th season at the helm of the program, has guided Little Rock to a 10-7 mark in league openers.
3. Free Points Could be Prevalent
   Little Rock can score from the free throw line, as has been shown below. But that might be expanded upon in Arlington this weekend as the Mavericks are allowing their opponents to score 13.1% of their points from the free throw line - a mark that ranks as the 32nd highest in the country. And the Mavs have yet to learn, either. UTA opponents are shooting 58.8% from the free throw line, a mark that ranks 18th best in the country. With Little Rock already shooting 72.6% from the free throw line this year - a mark that ranks 82nd nationally and fourth in the Sun Belt - will UTA continue its trajectory of giving opponents free points?
4. Uneven Boards – Will It Continue?
   Entering this weekend's series at UTA, prior games show that there's an uneven balance of boards that trends towards Little Rock and that could be a premonition for this weekend's series. As we enter the first weekend of league play, Little Rock has a defensive rebound rate of 73.0% - a mark that ranks 52nd in the nation. But UTA, facing a similar situation, has an offensive rebound rate of 27.0% - a mark that ranks 254th in the country. Keep on the lookout for Little Rock to prevent UTA from scoring second chance points if those numbers hold true.
5. Double Trouble
   Krystan Vornes is truly making the most of her senior year and is becoming a cause for concern for Little Rock opponents. With her engine kicked into high gear in her final season, Vornes has churned out three double-doubles this season so far in just seven games. This is notable as Vornes had not recorded a double-double prior to this season. It is also notable as she ranks 25th in the nation and second in the Sun Belt with her trio of double-doubles. Only Alexus Dye (Troy) has more among Sun Belt players with five. Meanwhile UTA only has two double-double performances this year, both coming against a Division II opponent.

 
For the latest information on Little Rock Basketball, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockWBB on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
 
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