Defensive Effort Leads Trojans to Another Home Win

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Little Rock Head Women's Basketball Coach Joe Foley has spent most of his career preaching how important solid defense can be. Thursday night showed exactly why.
 
Playing a game for the first time in over a month, Little Rock's defense held Coastal Carolina scoreless over the final 2:36 and pulled out a 54-50 win Thursday night at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
The win kicks off Little Rock's final season of Sun Belt Conference play in a familiar fashion – the Trojans have won eight straight conference openers in Sun Belt play and marked their fifth straight win at home overall.
 
Little Rock (6-5, 1-0 Sun Belt) utilized a lock down defense in the final minutes to thwart a comeback attempt by the Chanticleers (12-3, 2-2) after the host Trojans led by as much as 11 midway through the third quarter. Coastal was held to a season-low 50 points, more than 26 points under their season average.
 
That double-digit lead came as Little Rock rallied back from an early deficit, using a 25-4 run over a combined 10 minutes of play on either side of the halftime intermission. That run turned a 10-point deficit into an 11-point advantage for the Trojans. Coastal Carolina would never regain the lead after that point.
 
The Trojans were led by the 23 points from Sali Kourouma, who posted her fifth game with 20-plus points this season. Krystan Vornes recorded her third double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Little Rock shot an impressive 37.7 percent from the field, made even more impressive considering the team was just 3 of 12 (25%) from the field in a rusty opening quarter as the Trojans dusted off the cobwebs of over a month's delay in playing games. The last time Little Rock played a game was on Dec. 12 with an influenza outbreak and COVID-19 protocols preventing any games from taking place since that point.
 
Mayra Caicedo dished out a season-high nine assists – more than double Coastal Carolina's eight total team assists – and added eight points with five rebounds.
 
Coastal trailed by double digits early in the fourth quarter before attempting to mount a comeback. Aja Blount scored four of her team-leading 17 points in the final quarterand Kalaya Buggs hit her second of two 3-pointers with 2:36 to go, cutting the Trojan lead to a single point. But Coastal's scoring ended their as Little Rock forced four missed shots by the Chants in the final minutes while the Trojans hit three of four clutch free throws in the final 11 seconds, sealing the win.
 
Little Rock will host App State on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Mountaineers (6-8, 0-1 Sun Belt) head to Little Rock after dropping a 98-92 contest at Arkansas State Thursday.
 
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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