Boxscore

LITTLE ROCK ? Sophomore Anshel Cooper scored a career-high 27 points to lead Arkansas-Little Rock to a 70-60 win over Louisiana Tech before 1,727 fans at Jack Stephens Center Thursday.

Cooper hit 10-of-17 field goals and 7-of-9 free throws in 35 minutes of action to help the Trojans improve to 7-3 on the season. Tech fell to 4-7.

With UALR holding onto a slim 59-57 lead after a Jo Sneed lay-up with 3:05 to play cut an 11-point Trojan advantage to two, Cooper drove the left side and scored while being fouled. Her free throw completed the conventional three-point play and ignited an 11-1 game-deciding run.

?You have to give UALR credit,? said Tech head coach Chris Long. ?They made plays down the stretch. We gave ourselves a shot late but just couldn?t make the big plays when we needed them the most.?

After building an early 11-6 lead, Tech found itself without the service of leading scorer and rebounder Jo Sneed who was called for two offensive fouls in the first four minutes of the game.

With Sneed on the bench for the rest of the half, UALR was able to build a 33-29 halftime lead.

?With Jo in foul trouble, it totally took us out of what we wanted to do,? Long said. ?This game was called differently than any game we?ve played this year. It took its toll on us, especially in the first half.?

UALR pushed its four-point halftime lead out to 46-35 on a three-pointer by Nikya Hughes with 13:45 to play before Tech used an 8-0 run to close the gap to three. The Trojans started to pull away again, taking a 52-43 lead on a Cooper lay-up with 8:24 to play.

Once again, Tech mounted a comeback, using a 14-7 run to cut the advantage to 59-57, setting the stage for Cooper?s heroics.

?I thought we did a good job against their top two scorers, but Cooper really hurt us,? Long said. ?She made plays tonight we hadn?t seen her make on film.?

UALR won the game at the free throw line, making 24-of-29, including its first 16 attempts in the game. The Trojans entered the contest shooting only 60 percent from the free throw line.

?I feel like we are getting better despite what the score says,? Long said. ?I saw some improvement on both ends of the floor tonight. We did a good job of reversing the basketball and going inside, especially in the second half. We still have two more nonconference games and then the entire WAC season left. We will get better.?

Despite her limited playing time, Sneed scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Shanavia Dowdell added 14 points and 8 boards and Tarkeisha Wysinger 10 points and five steals.

Freshman Sidney Stewart also saw her first collegiate action, scoring three points and grabbing five rebounds in 14 minutes.

Tech shot 41 percent (23-56) from the field while UALR hit 42 percent (22-52).

Tech returns to action Dec. 29 at Sam Houston State.