LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (2/12/22) – On Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center, the Arkansas State women's basketball team dropped a 64-55 decision to in-state rival Little Rock in the penultimate regular-season meeting as conference mates.
Jireh Washington and Lauryn Pendleton paced the Red Wolves (11-13, 4-7 SBC) with 13 points apiece, but the Trojans (12-8, 6-3) to just 28.6 percent on 16-of-56 from the field. Pendleton also grabbed 6 boards in her sixth consecutive game scoring 10 or more points.
Morgan Wallace added 10 points with a game-high 8 rebounds, connecting on 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. Jade Upshaw scored 9 points in the first half on a pair of 3-point buckets, along with 4 rebounds. Mya Love provided 6 points and 4 boards off the bench.
A-State forced Little Rock into 18 turnovers, but the Trojans countered with 17 assists on 23 made field goals, shooting 46.0 percent (23-50) from the floor. Raziya Potter led all players with 18 points on 7-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-7 from deep. Mayra Caicedo tallied 14 points along with 5 boards and 4 assists, while Dariel Johnson recorded 10 points and 7 rebounds. The Trojans out-rebounded A-State 38-34.
A-State scored the game's first points before the Trojans took a 6-4 lead, but the Red Wolves hung tough defensively to lead 11-10 after the opening quarter.
Little Rock reclaimed the lead in the second quarter, leading by as much as seven with 3:20 left in the half on a pair of Tia Harvey free throws. A-State cut it to 20-17, which is where the deficit would stay at the half after Washington cut a 25-20 margin down to 25-22 when she weaved through traffic for a lay-in.
The Trojans picked up the pace defensively in the third, holding A-State to just 22.2 percent shooting on 2-of-9 from the field, despite Pendleton dropping 8 points in the quarter. Little Rock shot 47.1 percent behind Potter's 11 points in the period to lead 47-35 after three.
A Caicedo trey pushed Little Rock's lead up to 15 with 6:55 left before Washington helped A-State pull back to within nine. A pair of Love free throws with 35 seconds remaining cut it to 59-51, then a three-point play by Wallace trimmed it to 62-55. Caicedo then closed out the contest with a pair of free throws.
NEXT UP
A-State concludes its home slate next Saturday, with the Trojans making the return trip to Jonesboro. Tip inside First National Bank Arena is slated for 1 p.m. The game can be viewed live on ESPN+ while 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.
