It's a tough battle for the top spots in the Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball standings, and the Trojans are looking for two wins on the road to finish out the regular season.
Little Rock first heads to Charleston, Ill., to face Eastern Illinois, who sits in third place in the conference standings.
Trey Schaap has the call on The Sports Animal 920 AM. The game will also be live streamed on ESPN+.
LAST TIME OUT
In the final home game of the season, the Trojans pulled out an 86-80 victory over Western Illinois. The team turned in its best shooting performance of the season Saturday, shooting 61 percent.
Five Trojans were in double-figures.
Sug Williams led the crew with 21 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
Emerald Parker followed suit with 18 points and five rebounds.
Faith Lee added 14 points.
Jayla Brooks totaled 12 points and four rebounds, while senior
Jordan Holman pitched in 11 points. Senior
Mesi Triplett also added four points for the Trojans.
Little Rock led for three quarters, but WIU didn't let up, pushing back in the final 10 minutes.
OVC leading scorer Reagan McCowan made a jumper with just 2:38 left, cutting the lead to 80-75.
The Trojans found their final push with a Leatherneck scoring drought in the final minute of gameplay.
WIU fouled four times in the final 11 seconds, putting the Trojans on the charity line. Crucial free throws down the stretch by Williams and Brooks sealed the deal for the Trojans to end their home season with a win.
SENIOR STEPPING UP
Jordan Holman has been a crucial piece to the puzzle for the Trojans in her senior season. Holman's consistency has pushed the Trojans to contention. In the past six matchups, Holman has scored in double-figures, while averaging five rebounds per game and 2.1 steals per game. Holman broke the Little Rock single-game steals record earlier this season with nine steals in the first matchup with Western Illinois.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
The conference standings for women's basketball is a close race, with Tennessee Tech and Lindenwood tied for first place. Eastern Illinois takes the next spot. Southern Indiana and Little Rock are also tied in the fourth spot. The Trojans end the regular season Saturday against SIU-Edwardsville before heading to Evansville, Ind. for the OVC tournament. The tournament runs March 5-8.
LAST TIME OUT VS EASTERN ILLINOIS
The Trojans overcame a double-digit deficit in the third quarter but couldn't quite pull off the comeback in a 59-56 loss to Eastern Illinois.
The Trojans never led the game in the second half but tied it twice before the Panthers took the lead for good with 47 seconds left.
Holman led the Trojans with 18 points. She also dished out three assists and grabbed four steals. Lee added 12 points and five rebounds. Brooks had eight points, nine rebounds and three assists.
EIU star post player Macy McGlone scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Lalani Ellis' three-pointer with 4:24 to play in the third quarter gave EIU a commanding 41-29 lead. The Trojans came back with a 10-3 run that cut the lead to 44-39 on a Holman layup with just under a minute left, and the five-point EIU cushion stood heading into the final quarter.
A Brooks three-pointer immediately in the fourth quarter cut the lead to two. The Panthers scored on back-to-back possessions to push the lead to six, but
Alaina Payne's bucket made it 48-44 with 8:38 to play.
EIU tried to keep the Trojans at arm's length and again led by four, but Brooks' free throws with 2:37 left tied the game. EIU took the lead again moments later, and this time Williams tied the game at 56 with two free throws with 1:56 left.
Two free throws by Little Rock native and Joe T. Robinson graduate Alex Rouse gave EIU the lead for good with 47 seconds to play.
Maglone only managed one of two free throws with less than a second left to make the score 59-56. The Trojans called an immediate timeout and set up an inbound play at midcourt. However, Holman's three-pointer at the buzzer was blocked.
THE SERIES
The Trojans lead the series with the Panthers, 3-2. EIU grabbed the last win on Dec. 21, with a last-minute win, 59-56.
