Foley earns 750th career win
Little Rock Sports
Tyler Morrison, Associate Director of Communications
LITTLE ROCK – Head coach Joe Foley became the 12th Division I head coach in NCAA women’s basketball history to earn 750 career wins as Little Rock defeated ULM, 57-37, on Sunday afternoon at the Jack Stephens Center.
Among men’s and women’s coaches in Division I, Foley is just the 30th head coach to obtain 750 career victories.
“It means I’ve been coaching a long time,” Foley said. “I’ve had some great kids and great teams. It hasn’t been a two or three-year deal, it’s been 30 years of coaching great kids.”
Ronjanae DeGray put in a blistering performance for Little Rock (5-8, 2-0 Sun Belt) as she tallied a career-high 23 points and went 11-for-19 from the field with seven rebounds. Keanna Keys did her part with a season-high 16 points to go along with seven rebounds and one steal. Raeyana DeGray put up a career-high 11 boards with four points and three assists. Monique Townson tied her career high for rebounds with eight as she tallied four assists, three points and a game-high two steals.
ULM (3-10, 0-2 Sun Belt) had no players in double figures as Arsula Clark and Latangellia Walker led the Warhawks with eight points each.
Little Rock owned a 12-9 lead after one quarter of play behind Keys’ six points. Both sides shot 33.3 percent from the field while the Trojans had a 14-8 lead in rebounds.
The Trojans upped their lead to 24-18 at the half after shooting 41.7 percent (5-for-12) in the second quarter. Ronjanae DeGray led the period with six points and upped her game total to 10. Tied at 14, the Trojans went on a 6-0 run with a layup by DeGray, a jumper by Townson and two free throws by DeGray.
The Trojans’ lead increased to 15 after three quarters of play with a 42-27 lead. Little Rock shot 57.1 percent (8-for-14) in the third period as DeGray increased her game total to a career-high 19 points. Up 31-22, the Trojans went on a 9-0 run to take an 18-point lead at 40-22.
With a victory in their grasp, the Trojans took their largest lead with 11 seconds left in the game as Tori Lasker drilled a three to put Little Rock up by 20.
Lasker ended the game with five points, four rebounds and four assists while Anna Hurlburt had four points, four assists, three rebounds and a block.
The Trojans were dominate on the boards with a 47-25 advantage — the biggest margin since outrebounding Georgia State 36-16 in Jan. 2016. Little Rock had 18 offensive rebounds to go along with 29 on defense. Little Rock’s 47 rebounds were the most in a single game since putting up 46 against Texas State in Feb. 2015.
Little Rock committed its fewest turnovers this season with nine while ULM had 13. The Trojans ended the game shooting 43.3 percent (26-for-60) while the Warhawks shot 31.9 (15-for-47).
The Trojans will now go on the road to face Georgia State in Atlanta on Thursday. The game will air live on ESPN3 at 4 p.m. (CT).