Little Rock Falls to Troy, Still in Hunt for Host Seed

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Little Rock jumped out to a hot start but was cooled off by a stifling Troy zone defense in a 70-54 loss Thursday night at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
Teal Battle led the homestanding Trojans (11-17, 9-8 Sun Belt) with 15 points while Alayzha Knapp added 12 points. Meanwhile Troy (24-4, 15-2) used 6 of 11 (54.5%) shooting from three-point range and 51.9% (28-for-54) shooting overall to propel them to the win.
 
Little Rock's hopes of finishing in the top four and hosting the first two rounds of the Sun Belt Tournament are not lost, however. Thursday's results around the league yielded no change - Little Rock is still in a tie with Louisiana for fourth place. The tiebreaker is simple for the Trojans – win Saturday against South Alabama and the Jack Stephens Center will play host. Lose, and you'll need help from Texas State to not open Sun Belt Tournament play on the road.
 
Troy would use a 43-29 rebounding advantage to control the game and out-scored Little Rock in the paint, 34-20.
 
The hot start for the Arkansas version of the Trojans came with an 18-12 lead after the first frame, but it would be quelled by Troy quickly in the second quarter. The visitors would hold Little Rock to just nine points in the second quarter, ending the frame on a 14-2 run and taking a 37-27 lead into half.
 
Troy would extend its lead early in the third quarter, leading by as much as 19 halfway through the period, before Little Rock would begin to chip away at the lead. The home squad cut Troy's lead to single digits as the third quarter came to a close, with the evaporating clock and sounding buzzer the only thing that could stop Little Rock's 10-0 run.
 
But that run would not be extended into the final period. Troy scored the first five points of the final frame with Amber Rivers sinking one of her two treys of the quarter all within the first 90 seconds of play resuming. A Kyra Collier three-pointer over three minutes later would mark the last time Little Rock's deficit dipped under double digits. Troy would go on an 11-1 run after that to put the game out of reach.
 
Rivers led the visiting Trojans with 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting while Alexus Dye added 11 and Japonica James scored 10.
 
Little Rock's final regular season game takes place Saturday at 2 p.m. as the Trojans host South Alabama. It will be Senior Day and Little Rock will recognize its senior class in a postgame ceremony.
 
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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