Trojans Rally for Win at Southern Indiana, Remain Undefeated in OVC Play

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Little Rock rallied back from a seven-point fourth quarter deficit and held Southern Indiana to just four points in the final quarter to pull out a 47-44 win in Evansville Thursday evening.
 
The Trojans (8-8, 5-0 Ohio Valley) trailed by seven with over five minutes to play but ended the game on a 12-2 run and held Southern Indiana (8-8, 2-3) to just four points in the fourth quarter and a 7.7% field goal percentage in the final frame.
 
Tia Harvey scored all eight of her points over the final 5:15 and clinched the win with a defensive rebound as USI's Vanessa Shafford, who led the Screaming Eagles with 10 points, missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer. Shafford ended the night just 4-for-15 and 2 of 7 from 3-point range. Sali Kourouma led all players with 20 points.
 
Little Rock's come-from-behind heroics were necessary after the Trojans went scoreless for over 10 minutes across the third and fourth quarters, missing 16 consecutive shots before Harvey ended the cold streak with a jump shot in the paint with 5:15 to go.
 
Jayla Brooks, who had a career-high five steals, also hit a layup in that 12-2 run and Nikki Metcalfe had eight points, including a pull-up jumper with 1:35 left. That shot pushed Little Rock's lead out to 47-44 and ended up being the last basket of the game.
 
Even with the long scoreless stretch, Southern Indiana could not break through Little Rock's defense and pull away. USI's seven-point lead in the fourth quarter was their largest of the game but the Screaming Eagles coughed up 23 turnovers and the OVC's leaders in assists were limited to just 12, more than four fewer than their season average.
 
The win sets up a battle of the two remaining undefeated teams in Ohio Valley Conference play on Saturday when Little Rock plays at Eastern Illinois (13-3, 5-0) while handing Southern Indiana just its second loss at home this season and first in conference play.
 
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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