WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
* No. 1 seed UALR (26-4) topped Georgia State (13-17) 71-54 to advance to the semifinals of the Sun Belt women's championship.
* It was an 8-point game with 10 minutes to play, but UALR's defense proved the difference.
* GSU had three players in double figures, led by Brittany Logan's 14 points and 10 rebounds, to go with 11 points from PG Alisha Andrews
NEW ORLEANS – Georgia State fell to No. 1 seed UALR 71-54 in the opening round of the Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship at Lakefront Arena Wednesday.
The Panthers had an 11-0 run to close to 49-41 with 10:18 to play and were down nine at 54-45 with 8:26 to play, but UALR was able to pull away. GSU was down 63-52 with four minutes left as UALR closed on an 8-2 run to advance to the semifinals.
Georgia State (13-17) had three players finish in double figures. Senior center Brittany Logan led with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Alisha Andrews added 11 points with three 3-point baskets. Andrews ends her career with 201 3-pointers and is the only active player in the NCAA with 1,000 points, 300 assists, 300 steals, 300 rebounds and 200 3-point baskets. Freshman forward Kennesha Nichols added 10 points and five rebounds. Freshman Makeba Ponder made a 3-point basket to tie the school record for a season with 69 3-point baskets. Georgia State finished with a 34-29 rebound advantage.
UALR (26-4) is No. 3 in the NCAA in defense behind Connecticut and Chattanooga in allowing 50.4 points a game. They are among the national leaders in forcing 20.1 turnovers a game. Today, the Trojans forced 21 turnovers and turned those into 28 points. First-team all-conference guard Taylor Gault led UALR with 23 points. Guard Ka'Nesheia Cobbins was stellar with 5 of 5 shooting and 15 points to go with 10 assists. Point guard Alexius Dawn was a major factor with six 3-point baskets and 18 points.
“UALR's defensive pressure causing 21 turnovers was the big factor in today's game,” head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener said. “Their record, RPI and any rankings tell you how good they are and we couldn't get stops in the second half. I did tell my team I was proud of their fight as they cut the lead down to eight points and kept battling all game long. UALR had to play its top players 40, 39 and 39 minutes in order to earn this win, so that tells you how they were fighting, too.”
Georgia State did have a 32-30 advantage with points in the paint as they matched the Trojans front line. And, the Panthers had 14 offensive rebounds to claim the 34-29 rebound advantage.
UALR moves on to Friday's semifinal round at 11:30 a.m. CT in New Orleans.
NOTEBOOK:
- Makeba Ponder tied the school record for 3-point baskets made (69) by Carmelita Layog in 1999-00.
- The team finished with the second-most 3-point baskets in school history with 164, four shy of the record of 168 in 2001-02.
- Alisha Andrews became the first active player in the NCAA with 1,000 points, 300 rebounds, 300 assists, 300 steals and 200 3-point baskets.
- The team finished with the second-best free throw percentage in school history (72.3) with 386 of 534 made.
- GSU had a rebound advantage in 18 of the 30 games this season and 30 of the last 44 games overall. The team was second in the Sun Belt (+2.5).
- GSU finished second in the Sun Belt in assists (14 per game).
- Four seniors played their final games today: Andrews, Logan, Miranda Smith and Ashley Watson. Kayla Nolan's season ended earlier with an injury.
- Nine players finished the year with 100 or more points scored. Eleven players logged 275 or more minutes this season.
