Rally Falls Short Against Mountaineers

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – All good things must come to an end.
 
That statement rang true Saturday as Little Rock was upended by App State, 60-49, despite a double-double performance by Angelique Francis and a game-high 15 points from Sali Kourouma.
 
Little Rock (6-6, 1-1 Sun Belt) had cut a 14-point deficit to just five with less than two minutes to play but couldn't complete another comeback win in an arena that has already seen a few this season.
 
Kourouma scored 11 of her 15 points in the second half as the Mountaineers (7-8, 1-1) continually collapsed on the Trojan sophomore, forcing bad shots in a 6-for-22 shooting performance. She entered the game as the nation's 20^th best scorer, leading the Sun Belt Conference, with an average of 20.3 points per game.
 
Francis posted her second career double-double and first since last year's Sun Belt Tournament with a season-high 11 points while grabbing 10 rebounds. But Kourouma and Francis were the only two in Maroon and Silver to reach double figures in scoring while the visiting Mountaineers had five players reach double digits, led by 14 points from Faith Alston.
 
For App State, it was a third quarter push that Little Rock struggled from which to respond. App shot nearly 55% after the intermission including hitting baskets at a 61.5% mark in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Little Rock committed a season-high 24 turnovers in the game.
 
Little Rock was able to cut the deficit to five within the final two minutes of the game but three missed shots and two turnovers in the final 63 seconds prevented another come-from-behind win for the Trojans.
 
Azaria Robinson scored a season-high nine points for the Trojans while Dariel Johnson grabbed a season-best 11 rebounds. Mayra Caicedo dished out five assists and ended the game tied for 10^th all-time at Little Rock with 235 career assists.
 
The Trojans split the weekend's action – its first in more than a month – after App State sank eight 3-pointers and shot nearly 40% from the field. The loss ended a five-game home win streak for Little Rock and marked App State's first-ever win over the Trojans in 15 tries.
 
The Trojans return to action next week with a pair of scheduled games in Alabama. Little Rock is set to take on Troy on Thursday evening.
 
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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