Box Score The Little Rock Women's Basketball team came out hot in the first quarter, but energy was quickly matched by the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars. The Cougars pulled away with an 81-76 win over the Trojans to cap off the regular season.
With a Southern Indiana loss to Tennessee State, the Trojans take the fourth-place spot in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament. SIUE is not eligible for the conference tournament.
The Trojans were led by a double-double effort from
Jordan Holman with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
Emerald Parker followed with 11 points and six rebounds.
Sug Williams added 10 points and eight rebounds.
Faith Lee had seven points, and
Jayla Brooks had six points.
Little Rock went on a 9-0 run in the first six minutes of play, but SIUE's Ava Gugliuzza and Molly Sheehan drained two threes to cut the lead.
The Trojans ended the first quarter with a 22-17 lead.
SIUE picked up the pace in the second, taking a 26-24 lead with a made layup by graduate guard KK Rodriguez with 6:48 on the clock.
It was a tight four minutes to end the half, with the score tied four times. The Cougars took the lead back with a made three pointer by Rodriguez. The score sat at 39-35.
The Trojans trailed at the half, 41-38.
SIUE punched first in the start of the third, with three offensive rebounds, resulting in a made jumper by Macy Silvey in the paint.
The Cougars went on a 7-0 run before the media timeout after a foul on
Faith Lee. The Trojans were down by ten, 48-38.
Holman broke the lead to just six points with two back-to-back layups made.
Brooks drained a big three with 5:05 left to play cutting the lead to five, 50-45.
Little Rock went on a 3:23 scoring drought until Holman drained a three, cutting the score to 10 once again, 60-50.
In the fourth, the Trojans trailed with 6:00 left to play, 68-57.
Annemarie Batista cut at the lead with a steal, made layup and one free throw. With 5:44 on the clock, the score sat at 68-60.
Holman and Sheehan both were called for offsetting technical fouls resulting in free throws for SIUE. Sheehan went one-for-two.
With 3:36 left to play,
Emerald Parker turned an offensive rebound into two points, putting the score at 71-64.
Lee cut the Cougars lead to 74-68 with an aggressive drive in the paint and free throws.
But SIUE couldn't be stopped from making the three, with Sofie Lowis making her sixth three-pointer of the game. Cougars lead 77-68.
Holman drained a three with just 1:08 left, cutting the lead to 77-73. With just 16.5 seconds left on the clock, Holman made another three, the score at 79-76.
SIUE's effort on the inbound was unsuccessful, resulting in a turnover, but the Trojans couldn't convert. The Cougars shot free throws to end the matchup, taking away a senior day win, 81-76.
The Cougars were led by Sheehan with 23 points. Rodriguez contributed 17 points and eight assists. SIUE shot 50 percent from the field and 48.3 percent from the three, with Lowis leading the pack with six made threes and 19 total points.
Little Rock now looks to the conference tournament in Evansville, Ind. The Trojans will face the winner of the Southern Indiana and Tennessee State matchup at 12:30 p.m. on March 6. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
