Box Score
HOT
SPRINGS, Ark.—The UALR women's basketball team defeated
WKU 66-59 at Summit Arena on Tuesday to win the 2011 Sun Belt Conference
Tournament for the first-time in school history and earn the Sun Belt's
automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. Chastity Reed earned Most Outstanding
Player, while Shanika Butler earned
All-Tournament team honors.
“I think like last year
you couldn't ask for a better college basketball game,” said head coach Joe Foley. “You talk about two teams that are
close. We shot 51 percent from the
floor. Everybody was scoring. It had to be a great game to watch. I thought both teams fought tooth and
nail. We were just fortunate at the end.”
Reed led the team with 22
points, while Butler and Marian Kursh recorded
14 points. Reed and Kursh led the team
in rebounds with five. Asriel Rolfe recorded a team-high of
ten assists.
WKU
won the tip and quickly scored a three-pointer by Vanessa Obafemi, before the
Trojans answered back at the 19:34 mark with a layup by Kursh. After a layup by the Lady Toppers, Butler
knocked down a three-pointer to tie the score at five.
At
the 16:11 mark, a jumper by Reed sparked a 13-5 run by the Trojans including 10
points from Reed and a three-pointer by Rolfe from Butler to take the 18-12
advantage.
Over
the next three minutes, WKU used a 12-5 run with UALR's points coming from
Butler and Reed to regain a 24-23 lead with 7:14 until the half.
Both
teams exchanged points, before a three-pointer by Butler regained a 30-28
advantage at the 3:07 mark. At the 2:39
mark, LaTeira Owens scored on a layup to tie the half-time score at 30.
UALR
opened the second half on a 6-0 run including a three-pointer by Merriex to lead
36-30 at the 18:49 mark. A jumper by Amy
McNear sparked a 10-0 by the Lady Toppers to gain a 40-36 lead.
The
Trojans ended a four minute scoreless drought with a layup by Reed that fueled an
8-2 run including a three-pointer by Merriex with 13:11 remaining to take the
44-42 edge.
Over
the next two minutes, WKU outscored the Trojans 6-2, before a three-point play
by Kursh with 8:40 on the clock put UALR up 49-48. Both teams exchanged points, before another
three-point play this time by Merriex at the 3:23 mark gave the Trojans the
58-55 advantage.
In
the remaining 3:09, both teams scored points with Kursh knocking down four and
the Trojans hitting key free throws in the stretch for the 66-59 win and
first-ever Sun Belt Conference Championship.
The
2011 NCAA Selection Show will be Monday, March 14.
