Little Rock Off to Semifinals with 75-68 Win over Georgia State

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Teal Battle tied a career-high 25 points, Ky'lie Scott scored 22 points and Little Rock topped Georgia State, 75-68, to advance to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinals for the 13^th time in 14 years.
 
The Trojans (15-10), drastically out-manned and undersized, used 88% shooting (7-for-8) from 3-point range and committed a season-low six turnovers in what became Joe Foley's 30^th career Sun Belt Tournament win. The Maroon and Silver shot 43.4% from the floor overall with a 23-for-53 clip.
 
"What a group of young ladies," said Little Rock Head Coach Joe Foley. "To face the adversity that they have faced, not just for the whole year but for the last day or two. Every time we turned around we lost a player but every time we've had someone step up. We just keep getting better and better each day."
 
Little Rock played just seven players in the game, four of which logged over 30 minutes – and used precision play in the win. Mayra Caicedo led all players with 10 assists and did not commit a turnover.
 
"I don't think you can say enough about our point guard play today," added Foley. Mayra [Caicedo] was unbelievable with 10 assists and zero turnovers. She knew when to drive today and when not to. She didn't force it and she's learning that. I thought her play was very instrumental in us winning."
 
Georgia State (13-11), which saw 12 players see action with just one surpassing the 30-minute mark, was led by Taylor Hosendove's double-double performance of 14 points and 13 rebounds while Hannah Sadler added 10 points.
 
While the Trojans registered a season-low in turnovers, they forced 11 miscues off of Georgia State, converting that for 12 points.
 
Scott got the Little Rock scoring going with 16 points in the first half but faced limited minutes after halftime due to foul trouble. That is when Battle picked things up for the Trojans, scoring 16 of her 25 points in the second half in a performance reminiscent of leading Little Rock to a win over Arkansas State earlier in the year.
 
Hosendove had tied the game at 56-56 on a layup off of one of the few turnovers the Trojans committed and Battle responded with a 3-pointer from the left wing to regain the lead for Little Rock. That sparked a 9-0 run that was capped off by another 3-pointer from Battle.
 
The Panthers would cut into that lead, pulling within five with 19 seconds to go but Tia Harvey would three of her four free throws over the final 23 seconds to ice the game for the Trojans.
 
Little Rock now advances to face Louisiana (15-5) for the fourth time this season as the two squads will meet in tournament play for the second consecutive year.  
 
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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