UALR built an early lead then fought off numerous comeback bids by Missouri State to earn a 68-55 victory, its first win over the Lady Bears in seven tries, in women’s college basketball action Sunday afternoon in Little Rock. The Trojans got double-doubles from seniors Nikya Hughes and Andrea Keys to hand the Lady Bears their fourth consecutive loss to start the 2007-08 season.
The Lady Bears fell behind by as many as 13 points in the first half, as the Trojans hit 11 of their first 18 field-goal attempts and shot .545 (12-of-22) from the field in the opening stanza.
Hughes was an offensive force for the Trojans early, as the 6-3 senior center scored UALR’s first seven points of the game. Tahnee Balerio answered Hughes’ first two field goals by rimming home a three-pointer from the top of the key at the 18:26 mark. But UALR would respond by outscoring MSU 12-0 over the next three and-a-half minutes to take a 16-3 lead.
Missouri State chipped away at the Trojans’ advantage to pull to within seven points on Maggie Dwyer’s three-point field goal with 11:01 to play in the half. But the Trojans’ inside combination of Hughes and Keys scored the next six points to allow UALR to rebuild its double-digit advantage at 26-13.The duo would combine for 19 of UALR’s 35 first-half points.
MSU would trim the margin to 35-31 by intermission, as freshmen Jacque Griggs and Jasmyne Watson, who combined for 15 points in the half, tallied five points apiece in the last five minutes of the period. Watson went 3-of-3 from the field, while Griggs connected on 6-of-7 free-throw attempts in the period, just one game removed from a 1-of-6 shooting performance from the charity stripe in a 74-54 loss at Arkansas State (Nov. 20).
UALR oustcored Missouri State 9-2 to open the second half, as the Lady Bears hit just one of their first nine shots from the floor. The Trojans led by as many as 12 points before MSU cut into the margin, drawing to within 51-46 on Watson’s three-point play with 6:39 left on the clock.
Once again the Trojans were able to answer, this time with a 12-2 scoring spurt, capped by seven straight points from Kim Sitzmann. Her trey from the top of the key with 3:36 to play capped the run and effectively sealed the victory for UALR, which improved to 3-2 on the season.
Hughes led all scorers with 21 points to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds and three blocks. Sitzmann added 17 points and six assists for the Trojans. Keys added a double-double as well, totaling 11 points and 10 boards, while Anshel Cooper also finished in double figures with 11 points.
Balerio led the way with 14 points for the Lady Bears, who struggled once again from the field, shooting just .316 (18-of-57) for the game. Griggs and Watson each posted their first double digit scoring efforts as Lady Bears, finishing with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Griggs grabbed a game-high 12 boards to help MSU outrebound UALR 38-33.
The loss drops the Lady Bears to 0-4 for the first time since the 1988-89 season.
The Lady Bears will return home Thursday (Nov. 29) evening to host the UTSA Roadrunners, who are off to a 5-0 start. Game time is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
