JONESBORO, Ark. (2/28/20) – A double-double performance by Peyton Martin highlighted four double-digit scorers for Arkansas State, as the Red Wolves routed rival Little Rock 72-54 Friday night at First National Bank Arena.
 
The Red Wolves (10-17, 7-9 SBC) shot 44.2 percent (23-of-52) from the field and a solid 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from three-point range to defeat the Trojans (11-16, 9-7). A-State also posted its strongest performance of the season at the free-throw line, shooting a blistering 90 percent (18-of-20) en route to its largest margin of victory over Little Rock since January 25, 2014, in Jonesboro (77-46).
 
Martin scored a game-high 18 points while grabbing 12 rebounds on the night, while rookie Mya Love matched her career high with 15 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting (2-of-2 from three) and making all five of her free throws. Jireh Washington added 14 points and eight assists (matching her career high) and Morgan Wallace scored 12 to go along with eight boards.
 
"I'm proud of our group, obviously," head coach Matt Daniel said. "We could really have more players up here (at the postgame press conference) because we had production just about everybody that was on the floor. If you combine Peyton Martin and Morgan Wallace, they basically both had double-doubles. Jireh did a great job and Mya has been a great spark for us. She plays so hard and that's why she has a future here. Glad to get the win so now we'll try to protect home court next weekend."
 
The Scarlet and Black led in nearly every stat, edging the Trojans 32-28 in rebounding while forcing 15 turnovers and allowing just 12. A-State also held Little Rock to 42.6 percent shooting and just 4-of-12 from deep. Arkansas State's 65.2 percent assist percentage (15 assists to 23 made baskets) marks the seventh time this season the Red Wolves had a mark 65 percent or greaters.
 
Kyra Collier led the Trojans with 16 points with Teal Battle adding 13. Skyla Knight scored 11 while Angelique Francis posted eight boards.
 
A-State opened by scoring with the first three points in the contest, with Little Rock taking a brief lead at 11-7 with under five minutes to go in the first quarter. The Red Wolves closed the opening stanza on an emphatic 10-0 run capped off by a layup by Wallace with nine seconds left.
 
That run continued in the second quarter with a Martin layup, as A-State held the Trojans without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes starting at the 6:03 mark in the first. Starr Taylor gave the Red Wolves a double-digit lead with a corner three before Collier broke the scoring drought with a jumper. Taylor matched her season high with five points on the night. The Trojans ended the half on a 4-0 run with back-to-back buckets by Collier, but A-State led 26-22 at the half.
 
The Red Wolves opened the second half making their first four baskets en route to leading 43-27 with 4:30 to go in the third. Over the first five minutes, A-State only allowed one field goal, while Love scored 10 points during that stretch. The Red Wolves' lead stretched out to as much as 21 over a 10-0 run before the Trojans began to chip away at the deficit, going on a 9-0 run before Martin hit a short jumper with three seconds left, giving A-State a 54-41 lead through three. In the third quarter, the Red Wolves outscored the Trojans 28-19.
 
A-State opened the fourth by scoring 12 of the first 18 points, leading 66-47 after a three-point play by Love with 5:04 remaining. Martin knocked down a trey with 3:52 to go to push the Red Wolves to their largest lead of the night up 22 at 69-47 before the Trojans hit five straight free throws to cut it to a 17-point deficit. That was too little too late, as Kayla Williams hit a corner three with 58 seconds remaining to close out A-State's scoring for the night.
 
Arkansas State hosts South Alabama at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 5, for the penultimate regular-season game. The game will be aired live on ESPN+ while the broadcast can be heard on the EAB Red Wolves Radio Network on 95.3 The Ticket, as well as 970 AM and 96.9 FM.

For the latest on the A-State women's basketball program, follow @AStateWB on Twitter and @astatewbb on Instagram, while also liking the team's Facebook page at Facebook.com/RedWolvesWBB.