LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Little Rock closes out the regular season Saturday afternoon against Southern Indiana at the Jack Stephens Center, with the annual Homecoming Game also serving as Senior Day for the Trojan women's basketball program.
Seniors
Alaina Payne and
Naomi Smitherman will be honored in a pregame ceremony recognizing their contributions to the program. Graduate forward/guard
Jordan Holman, who was honored following her senior season last year and returned for her graduate campaign, will also be recognized. In addition, four-year student manager
Tierra Whitakerwill be honored for her dedication and service to the team.
The ceremony will celebrate the impact and commitment of the Trojan senior class as Little Rock takes the floor for its final regular-season contest in front of the home crowd.
GAME INFORMATION
Who: Southern Indiana (19-9, 13-6) at Little Rock (15-14, 11-8)
When: 1 p.m., Saturday, February 28
Where: Jack Stephens Cetner (5,600)
Radio: 106.7 Buz2 (Trey Shaap) Listen
HERE.
Video: ESPN+ (Michael Westbrook, pxp, Shameka Christon, analyst) Watch
HERE.
SERIES HISTORY
•The series is tied 4-4.
COACH SPEAK
"Thursday night's win against Morehead State showed me a lot about our team," head coach
Steve Wiedower said. "We were down by double digits in the second half and never gave up. Our team never quits, and we are maturing and handling adversity much better than we were earlier in the season."
TROJAN TIDBITS
•Little Rock has clinched the No. 5 seed in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament and will open play at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4, at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, against the No. 8 seed. •Southern Illinois Edwardsville and Southeast Missouri State are currently tied for eighth place, with SEMO entering on a three-game winning streak.
•
Jordan Holman scored a career-high 29 points in Thursday's home victory over Morehead State, surpassing her previous career best of 27 points set against Lindenwood last season.
•The Trojans rank third in the OVC in free-throw percentage at 73.7 percent, highlighting their efficiency at the line.
•Little Rock ranks fourth in the conference in turnover margin, committing 15.2 turnovers per game while forcing 16.5, demonstrating the team's ability to create extra possessions defensively.
SCOUTING THE SCREAMING EAGLES
· Southern Indiana enters Saturday's Ohio Valley Conference regular-season finale with a
19–9 overall record and 13–6 conference mark and has already
secured a first-round bye in next week's OVC Tournament.
· The Screaming Eagles can
lock up the No. 3 seed with a win, while a loss would move them to the
No. 4 seed behind Morehead State due to tiebreakers. Southern Indiana will open tournament play
next Thursday afternoon at the Ford Center in Evansville.
· Southern Indiana is coming off a
73–62 loss at Morehead State on Tuesday, after leading following the first quarter and entering halftime tied before Morehead State pulled away in the second half.
·
Senior guard Ali Saunders scored 21 points in the loss, recording her
11th 20-point performance of the season. She currently
leads the team and ranks second in the OVC with 17.6 points per game, including
more than 19 points per game in conference play.
·
Junior forward Chloe Gannon finished with 19 points, extending her streak to
13 consecutive games scoring in double figures. She ranks
second on the team with 13.3 points per game this season.
· A win Saturday would allow Southern Indiana to
finish its four-game road swing at 2–2 and would mark the program's
third win in four Division I regular-season finales since transitioning to Division I in 2022–23.
