TROJAN WOMEN WIN BIG AGAINST MOREHEAD STATE IN FRONT OF AN ELECTRIC CROWD OF KIDDOS

Student night was a smashing success at the Jack Stephen’s Center on Thursday, Feb. 9.

Over 2000 elementary school kids from across the Little Rock area were bussed in to watch the Trojan Women’s basketball team battle it out against Morehead State Unversity. Official attendance for the game was 3777 attendees and you could feel every single fan lifting the decibel count.

Most of the kids didn’t know what they were cheering about or who they were cheering for, but that didn’t stop them from being loud and energetic for four quarters of thrilling basketball.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock women must have felt the energy permeating throughout the building as they came out ready to play from the opening tip.

Little Rock led big after the first quarter buzzer thanks to their staunch defense that allowed just 8 points in the entire quarter.

Morehead came back with a vengeance in the 2nd quarter, however; outscoring UALR 23 to 16.

After some halftime events tailored toward the youngsters (the most entertaining of which being musical chairs), the kids must have replenished their sugar highs because they somehow came back from break even more jazzed than before.

The second half was just about over as soon as it started. Morehead could not keep themselves out of foul trouble.

Allowing Little Rock to shoot a PERFECT 9-9 from the free throw line in the third quarter and a highly efficient 10-13 in the fourth.

That coupled with the Trojan’s signature stingy defense (which held Morehead to single digit points in both of the late quarters) put the nail in Morehead State’s coffin and sent them packing back for Kentucky.

The fun wasn’t over, despite the overwhelming score in the 4th.

The kiddos were treated to some late game theatrics as Morehead

Whilst the Jack Stephens Center wasn’t sold out, the passion from the student section added fuel to the fire that was UALR.

After a timeout at the 15:28 mark of the first half, senior guard Isaiah Palermo and EIU’s Yaakema Rose Jr. had a heated exchange as they were both getting in position for the inbound.

The altercation would be broken up before it could escalate, however the students ate it up by shouting nicknames at Rose and hyping up Palermo.

The game would remain close throughout as each team would maintain a high tempo.

However, with 16 seconds remaining, sophomore guard D.J. Smith nailed two clutch free throws to make it a 69 to 66 game for the Trojans. EIU’s Cameron Haffner dropped in a contested three-pointer to send the game to overtime (OT) as UALR could not capitalize on the 2.2 seconds remaining thereafter.

The once rambunctious student section stood silent as the clock expired with OT set to begin shortly after a break.

The game stayed close. Even with 4.6 seconds remaining in OT, graduate guard CJ White uncorked a bomb to Smith, who was blocked on a layup attempt but recovered the ball and scored the go-ahead bucket to slam the door on EIU, 81-77.

Senior forward DeAntoni Gordon was named Player of the Game finishing with 18 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in an absolute clinic, the 6-foot 8-inch forward from Mobile, AL. Accompanying his efforts were Smith, Palermo and senior guard Myron Gardner with 20, 17 and 11 respectively.

The Trojans now take the road hoping to snag the eighth seed and sneak into the OVC tournament.

BY JOHN REED

State head coach, Cayla Petree, became absolutely irate over a foul call against one of her star players.

Petree received a technical for her antics, allowing Little Rock to add to their 12-point free throw disparity.

When asked about the drama at the end of the game, UALR women’s head coach Joe Foley (notably hoarse from the deafening environment) spoke to the growth and focus of his team, saying “We just focused on what we needed to do” and “Our team’s getting pretty mature about stuff like that… we don’t worry too much about what the other team’s doing.”

The Little Rock women currently sit at second in the Ohio Valley Conference and look to finish strong in their final four games of the season. A game to look out for in the coming weeks is Saturday, Feb 18, as the Trojans will take on the number one conference team in Eastern Illinois.

BY NICK BLANFORD