Nov. 20, 2010

Box Score

LITTLE ROCK - Chastity Reed scored 19 second half points and hit the biggest shot of the game to lead Arkansas-Little Rock to a 59-55 win over Louisiana Tech Friday night at the Jack Stephens Center.

With the game tied and the shot clock running down, UALR forward Hannah Fohne shot an air ball that Trojans guard Asriel Rolfe pulled down underneath the basket. Rolfe then promptly fired the ball out to the top of the circle to Reed who buried her first three-pointer of the season to give UALR a 52-49 lead with 2:51 to play.

The Trojans would not trail again as they won for only the second time in eight tries in the series - both wins coming in Little Rock.

"(UALR) made some plays down the stretch; hustle plays," said Tech head coach Teresa Weatherspoon. "They have a good team. However, we didn't do the little things all night that we needed to do in order to win a game on the road against a good team. We tell our kids all the time to always do the little things. Tonight, we didn't and it cost us."

Early in the game it looked as though the game wouldn't come down to the final few minutes as UALR jumped out to a 19-6 lead as a three-pointer by Taylor Ford at the 13:14 mark of the opening half gave the Trojans a 13-point lead.

During that opening run, Tech committed seven turnovers while UALR hit seven of its first 11 shots from the field.

After a 30-second timeout by Weatherspoon, the Lady Techsters (2-1) showed some life using a 16-2 run over the next eight minutes to take a 22-21 lead on a layup by senior forward Adrienne Johnson. During the run, Johnson scored eight points while Jasmine Bendolph and Angie Felton each hit big three-pointers as Tech recovered from the initial onslaught.

"I thought we showed some perseverance in the way we came back," Weatherspoon said. "We settled down, ran our offense and made some plays on both ends of the court."

Behind a stellar defensive effort from Tarkeisha Wysinger-Mackey, Tech held Reed to only two points in the opening 20 minutes of play as UALR led 29-28 in the halftime locker room. Meanwhile, Johnson erupted for 16 of her game-high 23 points in the first half.

The second half was more of the same as the two teams continued to trade punches with neither team building more than a seven-point lead. A Fohne layup with 12:51 to play in the game gave UALR a 41-34 advantage before the Lady Techsters once again made a run.

This time a 14-6 run over the next six minutes capped by Brietta Thomas' three-pointer gave LA Tech a 48-47 lead. After a Wysinger-Mackey layup and a Reed free throw tied the score at 49-49, setting the stage for Reed's big three.

For the game, Tech shot 41 percent (22-54) from the field while holding UALR to 38 percent (22-58). However, 20 turnovers by the Lady Techsters ultimately spelled doom.

In addition to Johnson's 23 points - it was her third straight 20-plus point performance this year - Felton added 10 points while Wysinger-Mackey scored eight points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists.

Tech returns to action Tuesday when it hosts Houston at 7 p.m. at the Thomas Assembly Center.