Kourouma Scores 25, Trojan Defense Clamps Down in Win over Tennessee State

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Sali Kourouma scored a game-high 25 points and the vaunted Trojan defense held Tennessee State to just 36 points as Little Rock held on for a 42-36 win over the Lady Tigers Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
Apart from Kourouma's 38% shooting and game-high points output, Little Rock's offense struggled but the Trojans were once again buoyed by a defense that limited TSU to its lowest scoring output in a conference game this year and held them to an Ohio Valley Conference single-game low one assist while forcing 21 turnovers.
 
The Trojans (10-9, 7-1 OVC) did not allow Tennessee State – a team shooting better than 24% from long range – to connect on a 3-pointer and held Erica Haynes-Overton, the conference's third leading scorer – to just 15 points with just six points in the second half. Kianni Westbrook added 11 points.
 
Tennessee State (7-12, 2-6 OVC) only reached double figures in one of the four quarters, not scoring more than seven points in any frame outside of their 17-point third-quarter output.
 
Kourouma finished with 25 points – the most points an OVC player has scored on TSU so far this season – and finished a second consecutive game with nine rebounds, barely missing out on a double-double. No other Trojan reached double figures in scoring, but Angelique Francis grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
Even with Kourouma's offensive success, Little Rock only shot 28.3% from the field and just 50% from the free throw line.
 
Of Little Rock's 42 total points scored, 18 of those came off of Tennessee State's 21 turnovers. TSU, which is the only OVC team to surpass 50 points against the Trojans this season in Little Rock's 64-57 win on Dec. 31, were unable to replicate that offensive production.
 
Little Rock is now holding all opponents to just 53.2 points per game and limiting OVC opponents to a staggering 44.1 points per game. Both of those numbers are the lowest in the league since at least the 1997-98 season and are believed to be conference records.
 
The Trojans, which remain one game behind Eastern Illinois for the top spot in the OVC standings, head to Morehead State on Jan. 26.
 
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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