NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – With Little Rock down two and only 3.3 seconds on the clock,
Tia Harvey knew the ball was coming her way and she would have the chance to play the heroine. She played her part perfectly.
Just a few steps past the midcourt line and with a UT Martin defender in her face, Harvey launched a 3-point shot well before the buzzer and was immediately mobbed by her team as it connected for a 45-44 win and a storybook ending to a dramatic week for Little Rock that featured a flooded court, change of venue and the program's first-ever league game in Ohio Valley Conference play.
Little Rock (4-8, 1-0 Ohio Valley) won its conference opener for the ninth consecutive season as the Trojans relied early on the return of
Sali Kourouma, who finally reentered the United States on Dec. 18 after being stuck in her home country of Mali for over six months due to visa issues.
Unable to train back home, Kourouma still put together over 26 minutes where she led all players with 14 points while also grabbing five rebounds. Harvey, whose game-winning shot pushed her into double figures for the third straight game, scored 11 points on 2 of 3 shooting from 3-point range.
UT Martin (4-8, 0-1 OVC) had three players reach double figures with Anaya Brown's 12 points leading the way while Shae Littleford and Paige Pipkin both scored 11. Sharnecce Currie-Jelks, a three-time OVC Freshman of the Week honoree this season that leads UTM with 13.8 points per game was limited to just six points in the contest.
The Skyhawks committed 15 turnovers in the game, half of which were courtesy of eight Little Rock steals.
Jayla Brooks led the way with a career-high four steals and Little Rock had an impressive ball control ratio with 12 assists (six by
Jaiyah Harris-Smith) and only nine turnovers.
Angelique Francis led all players with eight rebounds and scored six points.
Faith Lee, the reigning OVC Freshman of the Week, scored nine points and grabbed three rebounds.
Little Rock had led by as much as 13 in the first half after a 24-point outburst in the second quarter – the team's highest scoring output in any single period this year. But the Skyhawks responded with a 14-5 advantage in the third and chipped away at the Trojan lead until Pipkin's 3-pointer with 1:23 left gave UT Martin the one-point lead.
A single free throw by Lee tied the game at 42-42 before Seygan Robins hit both of her free throws on a controversial foul with 3.3 seconds left, giving UTM the 44-42 lead and setting up Harvey's heroics.
The Trojans now head to Nashville to face Tennessee State on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 1 p.m.
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