Little Rock survives thriller; moves to 9-0 in SBC play
Little Rock Sports
Tyler Morrison, Assistant Director for Communications
CONWAY, S.C. – A shot from the baseline by Ronjanae DeGray with one second remaining allowed Little Rock women’s basketball to survive a 51-49 thriller on the road at Coastal Carolina on Saturday afternoon at The HTC Center.
With the victory, Little Rock (12-9, 9-0 Sun Belt) has won nine consecutive games this season and 14 consecutive Sun Belt games dating back to last season.
DeGray finished the game with 13 points, four rebounds and two steals. Keanna Keys was the Trojans’ leading scorer as she posted her second-most points this season with 14 while earning two steals and a team-high five rebounds. Monique Townsonwas the third Trojan in double figures as she finished the game with 10 points and two steals while going 2-for-2 from three and 4-for-4 from the foul line.
Jas Adams was the leading scorer for the Chanticleers (11-10, 5-5 Sun Belt) as she came away with 14 points and two steals. DJ Williams came up a point shy of a double-double with nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Alise Davis was a rebound shy of a double-double with nine rebounds and 11 points.
Although Coastal Carolina shot 48.7 percent (19-for-39) compared to Little Rock’s 35.2 percent (19-for-54), turnovers ended up making all the difference. The Chanticleers committed 23 for the game — tied for the most by a Little Rock opponent this season. The Trojans capitalized by scoring 22 of their 51 points off turnovers.
It was all on the line in the fourth quarter as both sides remained within six points for the duration. After Little Rock made it a six-point game at 46-40 with two free throws by Townson, Coastal Carolina surged with a 9-2 run to take a 49-48 lead with 2:07 left to play. Still up by one with 15 seconds to play, Adams fouled Keys and sent her to the line. Keys made one of her two free throws to knot the game at 49, but the ball went off the Chanticleers and out of play on the ensuing rebound to give the Trojans possession once again. With one second remaining on the clock, DeGray made a jumper from the corner to give Little Rock the lead. After the Chanticleers took a timeout, Coastal missed its last-second jumper and sent Little Rock home with the win. The Trojans shot just 18.2 percent (2-for-11) in the final quarter, but the Chanticleers defeated themselves by committing seven turnovers. All seven of Little Rock’s fourth-quarter points came off turnovers.
Despite being outscored 18-15 in the third quarter, the Trojans ended the period on an 8-2 run to stay up 44-40. Little Rock shot a game-high 54.5 percent (6-for-11) from the field and was 2-for-3 from three. Townson tallied both of the Trojans’ three-point shots in the quarter and led the team with six points.
The Trojans outscored the Chanticleers 14-8 in the second quarter to take a 29-22 lead to the locker room. Tied at 16, Little Rock went on a 9-0 run to go up 25-16. The Trojans shot just 30.8 percent (4-for-13) in the period, but they went 5-for-6 from the foul line. Keys had a game-high 11 points at the break.
Little Rock held a narrow 15-14 lead after the first 10 minutes of action, and Tori Lasker led the quarter with five points. The Trojans shot 36.8 percent (7-for-19) while the Chanticleers were much more accurate at 50 percent (6-for-12). Little Rock’s largest lead of the game was nine points with 5:16 left in the period.
Lasker finished the game with eight points, three rebounds and three assists. Terrion Moore had three assists to go along with two points and two steals. Yanina Inkina and Teal Battle each had two points while Inkina had four boards.
Little Rock will return to the Jack Stephens Center to face Georgia Southern for the second time this season on Thursday at 5 p.m.