TROY, Ala. (1/22/22) – Owning a lead entering the fourth quarter, the Arkansas State women's basketball team could not overcome Troy's 14-2 run to open the period, dropping a 79-72 decision to the Trojans Saturday at Trojan Arena.
A-State (10-9, 3-3 SBC) edged the Trojans (14-7, 5-2), the nation's top rebounding team on the glass (45-44), led by Morgan Wallace's game-high 13 rebounds. The senior recorded a double-double for the second game in a row, posting 12 points.
Lauryn Pendleton led all players with a career-high 21 points and 7 boards, while Jireh Washington became the 26th player in program history to score 1,000 career points, tallying 14 on the day. Trinitee Jackson added 10 to round out for Red Wolves in double-figure scoring. Kiayra Ellis was also active on the boards, grabbing a career-best 8 boards.
As a team, A-State shot 39.4 percent (28-71) from the field, while making 8 of 10 free throws. Troy shot 36.1 percent (26-72) and connected on 21 of 26 at the charity stripe, while forcing 18 turnovers.
Felmas Koranga led Troy with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Amber Leggett and Tina Stephens added 13 apiece. Leggett also hauled in 9 rebounds for the Trojans.
A jumper by Jhileiya Dunlap pushed Troy's lead out to 9 midway through the first quarter before treys by Washington and Pendleton cut it to five. Pendleton's 3-pointer beat the buzzer to make it 27-22 after one.
Free throws by Brianna Harris put the Trojans ahead by 10 with 6:39 remaining in the first half, but A-State's defense stymied Troy's high-powered offense in the quarter. The Scarlet and Black limited the Trojans to just 3 of 21 shooting in the second quarter to make it just a three-point contest at the half.
The Red Wolves kept it close, ultimately taking a one-score lead on a 16-footer by Ellis to make it 49-46 at the 5:32 mark in the third. The lead changed hands back to the Trojans, but that lead was short-lived as a Pendleton trey kicked off a 9-0 surge to give A-State its largest lead of the day, up 58-51 with 2:44 to go in the quarter. Troy took advantage of its free-throw opportunities down the stretch to tie it, but a Wallace lay-in gave the Red Wolves a 60-58 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Troy erupted for a 14-2 run to open the final quarter to lead 74-62 with 3:32 to go, but A-State did not go away, cutting it to seven with 1:14 left on a 3-pointer by Love and a Wallace foul shot. Neither team connected from the field the rest of the way, but free throws by Jasmine Robinson and Pendleton closed it out.
NEXT UP
A-State returns home for a pair of contests, opening up Thursday by hosting UT Arlington. Tip-off versus the Mavericks at First National Bank Arena is slated for 7 p.m. and the game can be viewed on ESPN+. The radio broadcast can be heard on the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network flagship station 95.3/96.9 The Ticket/970 AM.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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.
