SPRINGFIELD, Missouri —
Faith Lee pumped in a game-high 20 points Saturday but a slow start and finish by Little Rock led to a 67-45 defeat at the hands of the Missouri State Lady Bears during the Trojans' final non-conference contest. The Trojans (2-7) managed just eight points in the first quarter and were outscored 17-5 in the final stanza at Great Southern Bank Arena, where Little Rock fell to 1-12 all-time. Little Rock also fell to 0-5 on the road this season while Missouri State upped its record to 6-3.
Lee connected on 10-of-19 shots from the floor to account for almost half of Little Rock's scoring output. No other player scored more than five as the Trojans shot 40.4 percent for the game. Little Rock made just 2-of-13 from behind the arc and 1-of-4 from the free throw line. The Trojans were also outrebounded by a 37-23 margin.
Little Rock scored the first four points of the contest but ended the opening period shooting just 26.7 percent, while the hosts ended the period on a 15-4 run. The Lady Bears went up by as many as 14 in the first half before settling for a 33-21 lead at the break. Lee had eight of her 20 in the first half. She added 10 more in the third, helping the Trojans get within seven points late in the third, but Missouri State was aided by 9-of-10 shooting from the stripe to keep a 50-40 lead heading into the fourth period. A 12-0 run by the Lady Bears helped put the game out of reach in the final quarter.
Jordan Holman had five points and three rebounds for Little Rock, Emeral Parker added two points and a team-high eight boards, and
Jayla Brooks added three points and three assists.
Brenna Burk (4),
Alaina Payne (4) and
Annemarie Batista (3) added scoring off the bench.
Little Rock opens its Ohio Valley Conference schedule at the Jack Stephens Center next week with home games against SIUE at 5 pm Thursday, and Eastern Illinois at 1 pm Saturday.
