Little Rock women open road trip Thursday at SIUE

The Little Rock women's basketball team starts a two-game trip in the state of Illinois on Thursday with the second of two conference meetings against SIUE. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 pm from at First Community Arena in Edwardsville and can be streamed on ESPN+ or heard locally on Sports Animal 920 AM.
 
THE MATCHUP
Little Rock (7-12, 6-2 OVC) leads the all-time series, 3-0, which includes a 79-59 win by the Trojans on Jan. 4 at the Jack Stephens Center. Jayla Brooks pumped in a career-high 25 points while Leilani Wimbish-Gay and Faith Lee each added 18 in Little Rock's best scoring output of the season. The Trojans outscored SIUE in all four periods while Brooks made 5-of-7 shots from behind the arc. Little Rock won the only meeting in Edwardsville, a 61-38 decision on Feb. 23, 2023.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Lee helped a sputtering Little Rock offense with 14 of her game-high 19 in the second half of a 53-47 win over SEMO on Jan. 27. The Trojans shot just 35.7 percent from the field but held SEMO to just 27 percent shooting (17-of-63) while grabbing a season-best 45 rebounds as a team. Wimbish-Gay finished with 11 points and Mesi Triplett blocked four shots – a career-high.
 
A LOOK AT THE COUGARS
SIUE enters in last place in the OVC with a record of 3-18 overall and 0-8 in conference play. The Cougars have lost eight straight. During conference play, SIUE ranks fifth in scoring offense (67.4) but 11^th in scoring defense (79.5). Molly Sheehan ranks 13^th in scoring (13.6), Ava Stoller is 11^th in rebounding (6.4) and Sheehan is ninth in assists (3.6).