LITTLE ROCK – A huge fourth-quarter run propelled the Little Rock women’s basketball team to its first-ever Postseason WNIT victory at Southern Miss on Wednesday evening.

With the game tied at 54-54 with 6:34 left, Little Rock (25-8) scored 13 of the next 16 points to defeat Southern Miss (23-11) and advance to the Second Round of the Postseason WNIT for the first time in program history.

The Trojans will face either Alabama or Mercer at a date and time this weekend still to be determined. Alabama and Mercer play in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Thursday evening.

On her 22nd birthday, senior Kaitlyn Pratt topped the Trojans with 18 points on 7 of 11 shooting and also had a team-high eight rebounds. Freshman Anna Hurlburt got the start and scored 13 points and had two assists, and sophomore Kira Shepard had 14 points, four rebounds and five assists.

Monique Townson and Sharde’ Collins also reached double-figure scoring with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Townson had a team-high nine assists and four steals.

Wednesday’s game had 11 ties and 10 different lead changes, but the final lead change happened with just under six minutes to go. With the game tied at 54-54, the Trojans started what would become a huge momentum swing with a 4-0 run on a Shepard jumper and a Townson layup to take a 58-54 lead. Southern Miss made a jumper to get back within 2 points with 4:46 to play, but that would be the Eagles’ last field goal for more than four minutes.

The Trojans got another layup and a 3-pointer from Shepard, a Collins jumper and a wide open Ronjanae DeGray layup to take a 10-point lead at 67-57 with 1:22 to play. The rest was all fouling for the Golden Eagles, and Little Rock shot free throws to coast to the final score.

Little Rock got 36 points in the paint during the game and scored 18 points off 14 Southern Miss turnovers. Little Rock out-assisted the Eagles 20-11 and shot 53.6 percent from the field overall. In the fourth quarter, the Trojans made 9 of 13 field-goal attempts.

The Trojans and Golden Eagles played a competitive first half with the Eagles taking a 35-33 lead into the break as Brittanny Dinkins made a 3-pointer with just three seconds remaining. Dinkins had 15 points for Southern Miss in the first half on 6-10 shooting, and the Eagles got 8 second-chance points by grabbing nine offensive rebounds.

For Little Rock in the first half, Pratt scored 9 points and Anna Hurlburt scored 7 while also adding three rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Little Rock used an 8-0 run spanning the end of the first and early second quarters to take a lead but never led by more than 3 in the first half.

Southern Miss had multiple moments where it appeared they might pull away, but Little Rock never led the Eagles’ lead get larger than 5 points.

The Trojans will play in the WNIT Second Round against either Alabama or Mercer. Little Rock will find out its opponent, game time and location after the Crimson Tide and Bears play on Thursday evening.

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LITTLE ROCK – The Trojan women’s basketball team is still unblemished in Sun Belt Conference play, and this year’s team is now in the program record book.

Little Rock handled Coastal Carolina 79-47 at the Jack Stephens Center on Saturday evening, winning their 11th straight game to begin Sun Belt Conference play and tie themselves with the 2010-11 Trojans for most consecutive wins to start the conference slate in team history.

The Trojans (17-6, 11-0 Sun Belt) used a strong defensive effort in the first half to build a lead over Coastal (9-12, 4-7) and put up 45 points in the second half to win their 16th consecutive conference game at the Jack Stephens Center dating back to last season.

With a loss by UT Arlington on Saturday, Little Rock is now 2.5 games ahead of the second-place Mavericks and the Troy Trojans (both 8-2 in the Sun Belt) with seven conference games remaining.

Kaitlyn Pratt reached a milestone during the game, scoring the 1,000th point of her career in the third quarter. The senior led the Trojans on the night with 19 points and had five rebounds. Ronjanae DeGray scored 13 points, and Carolee Dillard set a new career high with 11.

Kyra Collier was Little Rock’s top rebounder with six rebounds and also had six steals and five assists. Sharde’ Collins scored 8, had five assists and two steals. Monique Townson had 8 points as well with three assists and four rebounds. All told, 10 different Trojans players scored.

Little Rock committed a season-low six turnovers while Coastal had 24 total turnovers that resulted in 32 Trojan points. Little Rock recorded 18 assists while Coastal had just nine.

Little Rock’s defense was stifling right from the beginning of the game as Coastal managed just 6 points in the first period on 2 of 10 shooting. The Trojans faced six Chanticleer turnovers and shot 7 of 13 from the field themselves, giving the home team a 16-6 edge after 10 minutes.

In the second quarter, the Chanticleers scored 4 quick points but were unable to score again for seven minutes. Coastal committed nine turnovers in the second quarter and had an 0-for-6 streak from the field as Little Rock went on a 16-0 run and go up by more than 20 points. At halftime, the Trojans led 34-13.

Little Rock’s lead only grew in the second half, getting as large as 35 with 4:28 to play.

The Trojans will attempt to set a new school record for consecutive wins to start Sun Belt play on Thursday when they travel to UT Arlington. Tipoff between the Trojans and the second-place Mavericks is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.

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LAFAYETTE, La. – Ronjanae DeGray had the best scoring day of her career, Sharde’ Collins broke the 20-point barrier for the third straight game and the Little Rock women’s basketball team improved to 9-0 in the Sun Belt Conference with a 82-64 victory over Louisiana at the Cajundome on Saturday evening.

DeGray got 25 points on 10-of-11 shooting, only missing a shot in the final two minutes of the game. DeGray added six rebounds and a personal-best six steals to her career days as well. Collins finished the night with 23 points, Kaitlyn Pratt scored 16 and had six rebounds and Monique Townson  had 14 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Little Rock (15-6, 9-0 Sun Belt) has scored 80 points in back-to-back games for the first time ever as a Division I program. The Trojans last got to 80 in consecutive games in January 1985 when it scored 80 against Rhodes College and 104 against Arkansas Baptist.

The win tied this year’s Trojan team with the 2014-15 squad for the second-best Sun Belt start in program history at 9-0. Only the 2010-11 team had a better start to league play with an 11-0 record before losing.

On Saturday, the Trojans led by as many as 20 points early in the fourth quarter, but the Cajuns cut that advantage down to 10 points with a 10-0 run in a two-minute span. With their lead down to 65-55, Little Rock went on a 15-4 run in the next four minutes to get more distance on Louisiana. The Trojans would eventually lead by as many as 21 before the final buzzer.

Louisiana led for a good chunk of the first half, taking a 7-0 lead early before Little Rock managed to score. But that would be the Cajuns’ largest lead of the game as Little Rock came storming back. The Trojans took a lead with seven minutes left in the first half as Collins and Louisiana’s Jaylyn Gordon battled for offensive supremacy.

By the end of the half, Collins got help from the rest of her teammates in scoring. DeGray put in 8 points in the first half on 4-of-4 shooting, Pratt scored 6 points and Townson added 4 including a buzzer-beater to end the half to go along with Collins’ 18 points. That was enough to give the Trojans a 36-29 lead at the break while.

On the other side of the ball, Gordon had 21 of her team’s points and two just other Cajuns managed to score in the first half. Gordon would go cold in the second half, scoring just 8 to finish with 29.

After ending the first half on a 6-0 run, the Trojans continued their offensive burst to start the third quarter. Little Rock scored 9 of the first 11 points including a 3-pointer by Townson that forced a Cajuns timeout with the Trojans leading 45-31. DeGray continued her dominance inside in the period, making all five of her field goal attempts and two more at the free-throw line to reach 20 points on the night.

The Trojans return home to the Jack Stephens Center next week, beginning the two-game homestand with Appalachian State on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

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LITTLE ROCK – In a battle for first place in the Sun Belt Conference, the Little Rock women’s basketball team came out on top.

Little Rock (12-6, 6-0) survived a third-quarter run by Troy (12-5, 5-1) and held on late for a 77-74 victory at the Jack Stephens Center on Thursday night, staying undefeated in league play and taking over sole possession of first place in the conference.

Kaitlyn Pratt was Little Rock’s leader on offense with 20 points and added five rebounds. Kyra Collier scored 14 points and was within a breath of a triple-double with nine rebounds and nine assists. Sharde’ Collins scored 16 points, and Ronjonae DeGray was the fourth Little Rock player in double figures with 13 points.

The game was close all the way through the fourth quarter, with neither team holding a lead larger than 6 points. Little Rock got that 6-point lead with 3:44 remaining when Collins drained a 3-pointer. But from there, Little Rock’s offense went cold and Troy scored the next five points to make it a 75-74 game with 1:13 remaining.

Little Rock missed a 3-pointer on its next possession, Troy missed a 3-pointer on its next possession, and Monique Townson followed with two made free throws. Troy had another chance to tie but missed a 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining. After two missed free throws by Pratt, Troy was unable to get off a final shot as Townson deflected a long Troy pass and sealed the win for the home team.

The scoring began in the first half, with Little Rock setting a new season best for points in a half with 42. Little Rock got 16 points from Pratt – 8 away from her career single-game high – and led Troy by 10 points at the break. Troy committed 16 turnovers that led to 14 Little Rock points.

Little Rock began to pull away from Troy toward the end of the second quarter, going on an 11-2 run to close the half and keeping Troy without a point for more than three and a half minutes. Still, Troy stayed in the game due to shooting 44 percent from the floor in the period including a 4-of-7 effort from the 3-point line.

In the the third quarter, though, the visitors from Troy began to catch up as Little Rock got into foul trouble. Troy sank 10 free throws in the quarter while holding Little Rock to a low shooting percentage, and Troy was able to take a lead at 57-56 with 28 seconds left in the quarter as they closed the period on an 11-2 run.

Early in the fourth quarter, neither team seemed to be able to miss as they exchanged baskets for the first five minutes. With Troy leading 67-66, though, Little Rock scored 6 consecutive points on a DeGray layup, a Collins jumper and a Collier layup to make it a 72-67 game and give Little Rock some breathing room.

Townson was a big factor for Little Rock, scoring 8 points, adding five rebounds and dishing out six assists. Sophomore Kira Shepard played her first game of the season as well after tearing her right anterior cruciate ligament in the Sun Belt Championship Game against Troy last year. She had 4 points and a rebound in six minutes.

Little Rock remains at home this weekend, hosting South Alabama at the Jack Stephens Center on Saturday. That game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. tipoff.

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