ARLINGTON, Texas – Brianna Crane came up big in the clutch, hitting a pull-up jumper from about seven feet away with just 2.9 seconds remaining as Little Rock claimed a dramatic 57-56 win over UT Arlington in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams.
UT Arlington (2-3, 0-1) had a last second chance to steal back the win but Shyia Smith's layup as time expired rolled out as Little Rock (5-3, 1-0) won its league opener for the seventh consecutive year. Smith led the Mavs with 21 points.
It would be the second clutch basket from Crane in the game after she hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer as time expired in the first half, sending the Trojans to the locker room with a 30-28 halftime lead.
Crane finished the game with 12 points and was 50% from the field (5 of 10) with four assists and four rebounds.
Bre'Amber Scott led all players with 27 points, going 9 of 10 from the free throw line. Little Rock would finish the day with a season-best 82.4% mark from the charity stripe as a team.
UT Arlington was led by Shyia Smith's 21 points as the Mavs out-shot Little Rock on the game but only made two field goals over the final six minutes of the game.
The Trojans capitalized on mistakes made throughout the game, scoring 17 points off of 16 UTA turnovers.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday, Jan. 2 with a 4 p.m. tip-off time in Arlington.
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