Box Score ATLANTA – A career shooting performance by Alexius Dawn and an equally impressive scoring night from Taylor Gault were more than enough for the UALR women's basketball team at Georgia State on Saturday afternoon.
Dawn scored a career-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting that included five 3-pointers, and Gault added a season-high 21 points of her own as the Trojans moved to 2-0 in Sun Belt play with a 75-55 victory over the Panthers at the GSU Sports Arena.
The win was UALR's second consecutive conference victory that came by at least 20 points. The Trojans shot 54.7 percent as a team (29 of 53), breaking the 50 percent barrier for the third straight game.
Gault had 17 points at halftime and got 6 of her total points at the free-throw line. Dawn had just 8 at the break, but she stayed hot in the second half with three 3-pointers as the Trojans put the game away.
UALR (9-2, 2-0 Sun Belt Conference) also got double-figure scoring from Shanity James (14) and Kaitlyn Pratt. Georgia State (6-5, 1-1) was led by Alisa Andrews' 11 points, but she was the only Panther in double figures.
With the teams tied at 19-19 midway through the first half, UALR began an 18-3 scoring run that would put them permanently out of Georgia State's reach. The run lasted nearly seven minutes as UALR was scoring with easy layups and four free throws from Gault to gain a 15-point lead at 37-22 with a minute left in the half. Georgia State missed seven consecutive field goals during UALR's big run, and the Panthers scored five of their seven points the rest of the half at the free-throw line.
UALR was ahead 39-26 at the break and never led by fewer than 11 points in the second half.
Ka'Nesheia Cobbins was excellent all game, setting a new career high with nine assists. Dawn also had six assists of her own. On the boards, James and Dawn led the Trojans with six rebounds apiece while Cobbins was close behind with five. Dawn also topped the team with four steals, tying a career high.
UALR now leads the all-time series with the Panthers 2-1, and the team is 2-0 in conference for the first time since the 2012-13 season. UALR has also now won five consecutive Sun Belt regular-season games.
The Trojans began the game on fire, scoring the contest's first 7 points on a 3-pointer and mid-range jumper from Gault along with a Pratt layup. The Panthers got the next four points to cut UALR's lead back down to 3, but the Trojans followed with six consecutive points on easy layups to force the Panthers into a timeout trailing 13-4.
The timeout seemed to work wonders for the Panthers, as they put Alisha Andrews into the game to hit two 3-pointers. GSU scored 9 of the first 11 points after the timeout, and the Trojans went into the second media break leading by a slim 15-13. By the third media timeout, Andrews had another basket and the Panthers were back level with the Trojans at 19-19 as the UALR offense faltered and committed turnovers.
But after that timeout, UALR took over. Georgia State's offense went ice cold and UALR took advantage, going on their 18-3 run and a larger 20-7 run that extend the rest of the half.
Just like in the first half, the Trojans went on a 7-0 run early in the second period to extend their lead to 18 points at 48-30. Dawn had a 3-pointer and a fast-break layup in that stretch to increase the lead, and she hit her fourth 3-pointer of the game in between layups by Pratt and James. The Trojans were ahead 53-34 at the half's first media timeout, and they would eventually extend their lead to 22 points midway through the half.
During the contest, James moved up to fifth all-time in UALR history in offensive rebounds. Kiera Clark got her 300th career defensive rebound. Gault recorded her 600th made field goal and also got her 300th career rebound. On the career scoring front, Pratt tallied her 200th point while Dawn had her 100th,
UALR has a very short break before its next game, as the team is back in action on Monday hosting South Alabama. The Trojans and Jaguars are set for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff at the Jack Stephens Center.
