Little Rock Defense Shuts Down Another OVC Opponent

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Little Rock's defense held Tennessee Tech to season lows in points, field goals made and assists while scoring 15 points off 15 turnovers in a dominant 61-45 win over the Golden Eagles Thursday night at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
The Trojans (9-9, 6-1 Ohio Valley) held their sixth conference opponent to under 50 points and used a 13-0 run to start the second half to pull away from the Golden Eagles (11-6, 5-2) after Little Rock took a 31-26 lead into intermission.
 
Sali Kourouma led all scorers with 22 points, barely missing out on a double-double after grabbing nine rebounds. Jayla Brooks scored a career-high 13 points while Jaiyah Harris-Smith flirted with a triple-double, dishing out a career-high 10 assists with seven rebounds and six points. Tia Harvey added 10 points.
 
Little Rock forced 15 turnovers and held TTU to just 45 points and 28.6% shooting, despite the Golden Eagles averaging 68.4 points and 42.7% shooting entering the game. Maaliyah Owens led TTU with 12 points.
 
Tennessee Tech kept pace with the Trojans throughout the first two periods, forcing six ties and five lead changes before the break. But Little Rock came out firing after halftime, opening the third quarter on the 13-point run that included two points from the free throw line courtesy of a technical foul called on the TTU coach.
 
That technical, coming just two points into Little Rock's run, only motivated the Trojans and Little Rock took advantage of the opportunity. Tennessee Tech was unable to recover as Little Rock stretched its lead to as much as 22 late in the fourth quarter.
 
The Trojans held TTU to just eight assists in the game, a far cry from their 15.3 season average entering Thursday. Little Rock continues to exert its dominance on defense while Kourouma, now averaging 17.8 points per game, was an efficient 8 of 19 (42%) from the field, hitting a trio of shots from 3-point range.
 
With the win, Little Rock secures sole possession of second place in the OVC and remains just one game behind league-leading Eastern Illinois (15-3, 7-0). The Panthers defeated Tennessee State (7-11, 1-3) Thursday evening, 63-58. TSU, the only OVC team to score more than 50 points on Little Rock this season, heads to the Jack Stephens Center for a 1 p.m. tip-off on Saturday.
 
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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