Strong Second Half Pushes UALR to 71-50 Win; Foley Records 100th SBC Victory

Courtesy UALR Athletics Department

TROY, Ala. – History was in the air Saturday night (Jan. 5), but UALR had to rally to do it.

Down 33-32 at half, UALR used a 22-4 run over the final 12 minutes as UALR (11-3, 4-2 Sun Belt) pushed past Troy (3-11, 0-5 SBC) 71-50 in the new Trojan Arena in Troy, Ala. With the victory, UALR head coach Joe Foley became just the eighth coach in league history to reach the century mark in SBC wins.

UALR also held Troy to a single-half low of 17 points in the second stanza, eclipsing the 22 UALR gave up to Troy in the first half in Little Rock on Nov. 29.

UALR assisted on 15 of its 27 made baskets for the game, shooting 44.3 percent (27-61) from the field. Troy was held to only six field goals in the second half and finished 19-61 (31.1 percent) for the game. UALR recoded seven blocks, six in the second half alone, and claimed the battle on the glass 49-39.

UALR was led by sophomore Taylor Gault and freshman Morgan Bolton coming off the bench for 10 points apiece. Earning her first collegiate start, freshman Carolee Dillard ripped down a career-best 12 boards. Classmate Jakeisha Wells contributed eight points and eight boards off the bench.

Troy’s Ashley Beverly-Kelly scored a game-high 11 points, all in the first half, while Kourtney Coleman chipped in 10. Brooke Bowie came off the bench for eight rebounds.

Troy came out in the second half and extended its lead to 38-34 on a triple by Coleman, but UALR answered with a press break and Bolton found Gault for the jumper to cut the deficit in half. Freshman Shanity James tied it on an offensive rebound put back. A layup by Coleman gave Troy what would be its final lead of the game, but Bolton answered with her first collegiate three to give UALR the 41-40 edge with 17:21 left in the ballgame.

After the triple, Bolton made a three the hard way when she made a lay up and was fouled. She then added a pair from the charity stripe, completing an eight-point outburst in 2:16. Her previous high in scoring this season for a whole game was five points.

After Gault split from the line, Troy answered with a 6-2 run of its own to climb within 49-46. Senior Janette Merriex came down the court and hit a trey to ignite a UALR 12-0 run over the next six minutes. James split from the line and added a layup on an outlet from Gault for the UALR 55-46 lead.

Wells and juniors Taylor Ford and Hannah Fohne both added jumpers to put UALR up 61-46 to force a Troy timeout with 7:13 remaining in the game. Troy answered with its only field goal in the final 12 minutes of the game, but UALR extended the lead and went on for the 21-point win.

In the first half, the visitors never led until the 6:55 mark when a Merriex triple gave UALR the 17-16 advantage. Leading 23-22, Troy went on a 5-0 spurt thanks to a Beverly-Kelly jumper and triple from Joanna Harden. After both teams traded scores, UALR tied the game on a 6-0 run of its own. Wells started it with a layup followed by a Gault jumper. After a defensive stand, Bolton was fouled when grabbing the defensive rebound and sunk both at the line to knot the score at 30 with 1:48 left. A free throw and jumper put Troy up three with 13 ticks left, but Bolton rushed down the court and dished to Wells for a jumper as the clock expired.

UALR returns to action Wednesday (Jan. 9) when it hosts North Texas. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.