Grambling State Williams notches career high in loss at Arkansas

ESPN3 GAME VIDEO REPLAY

FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas --| Ariel Williams scored a career-high 16 points, but it wasn't enough as the Grambling State University women's basketball team couldn't overcome a strong second quarter by Arkansas in a 79-62 loss on Thursday night at Bud Walton Arena.

Grambling State (3-8) trailed 15-11 entering the second quarter, but Arkansas (9-4) outscored the Lady Tigers, 25-12, to take a 40-23 advantage into the half.

Williams paced Grambling State with 16 points, on 6-of-12 shooting, with three rebounds and three assists. Monisha Neal added nine points and seven rebounds.

Devin Cosper led Arkansas with 16 points, four boards and three assists. Raven Northcross-Baker tallied 14 points and four rebounds, while Kiara Williams recorded a double-double of 12 points and a game-high 16 boards. Malica Monk also added a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 10 assists.

Turning Point
Arkansas opened with a 4-0 run, capped by a Jailyn Mason 3-pointer with 8:27 remaining, but Grambling State battled back and cut the deficit to 9-8 after a Jazmine Torian trey with 3:50 left in the first quarter.

The Razorbacks outscored the Lady Tigers over the final three and a half minutes, 6-3, to take a 15-11 advantage into the second quarter.

Arkansas began the second frame with a 14-2 run to take a 29-13 advantage after a Mason 3-pointer with 5:13 left in the first half. The Razorbacks stretch the lead to 40-23 as the teams headed into the break.

Grambling State trailed by as many as 24 points in the final quarter, but were able to cut the margin to 73-58 and trimmed the deficit to 73-60 with 2:23 left, but that would be as close as the Lady Tigers would get.

Inside the Numbers
· Grambling State shot 37.9 percent (25-of-66) from the field and 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from the free-throw line.
· Arkansas was 25-of-66 (37.9 percent) shooting and 18-of-27 (66.7 percent) from the charity stripe.
· The Lady Tigers finished with 35 rebounds, including 25 off the defensive glass.
· The Razorbacks tallied 48 rebounds, with 18 coming on the offensive glass.
· Grambling State scored 44 bench points, 26 points in the paint, 15 points off turnovers and 10 second-chance points.
· Arkansas added 33 bench points, 22 points in the paint, 18 points off turnovers and 11 second-chance points.

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News & Notes
· Grambling State concludes the 2017 portion of its schedule at 3-8 (wins over Louisiana-Monroe, McNeese and Southeastern Louisiana).
· The Lady Tigers ended the year with five straight road games (one of which was a neutral contest).
· Ariel Williams' previous game-high was nine points against Memphis

Up Next
Grambling State will open the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) schedule on Jan. 1 at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center as Alabama A&M comes to town. Tip-off against the Lady Bulldogs is set for Noon.

Follow Grambling State Athletics
For complete coverage of Grambling State athletics, please follow the Tigers on social media at @GSU_Tigers (Twitter), /gramblingstateathletics (Facebook), @gramblingathletics01 (Instagram) or visit the official home of Grambling State Athletics at gsutigers.com.

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Alabama Basketball Beats Florida A&M

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TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – The Alabama women's basketball team (10-3) closed out its regular-season, non-conference schedule with a 91-55 win over Florida A&M (2-11) Thursday night in Coleman Coliseum. With the victory, Alabama now owns a six-game win streak and remains perfect at home at 8-0.

Crimson Tide sophomore Jasmine Walker led the game with a career-high 19 points to go along a career-best eight rebounds, while junior Shaquera Wade also tallied 12 points and five boards. In all, 12 different Tide players scored in the contest.

"I really liked our energy back from holiday break with how hard our kids have worked," said head coach Kristy Curry. "I thought tonight we played with a lot of energy. If we continue to practice and play with that kind of energy, we'll continue to improve. It's just about getting better just a little bit every day. That will end with really great results and we can continue to improve."?

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Alabama took control of the game early in the first quarter and never let up, leading 55-23 going into halftime. The Tide maintained its lead in the second half, stretching it to 36 at the final buzzer.

UA shot 55 percent (36-of-66) from the field, while the Alabama bench dominated by outscoring the Florida A&M reserves, 51-9.

The Tide will return to action on Sunday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. CT in its Southeastern Conference opener against No. 16 Missouri in Coleman Coliseum. The game will stream live on SEC Network+.

Follow Alabama women's basketball on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at AlabamaWBB, while general athletic news can be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.

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Xavier Gold Nuggets open trip with exhibition loss at Auburn

AUBURN, Alabama -- — Xavier University of Louisiana maintained a single-digit deficit against Auburn through 23 minutes before the Tigers pulled away for a 70-44 women's basketball victory Thursday.

The Gold Nuggets (6-4) counted the game as an exhibition, but the Tigers (9-3) counted it as a regular-season game. It was Auburn's sixth straight victory.



ESPN3 GAME VIDEO REPLAY

XULA trailed 27-20 at halftime and 31-22 early in the third quarter before Auburn closed the period with a 15-6 run.

Mikayla Bates scored nine points and Dasia Pitre eight for XULA. Maya Trench, the Nuggets' 5-foot-2 sophomore point guard, produced game highs of eight rebounds and four assists.

Bates, Essence Wells and Taylor Jones made two 3-pointers apiece.

Janiah McKay scored 17 points, Daisa Alexander 13, Abigayle Jackson 12 and Jazmine Jones 10 for Auburn.

The Gold Nuggets had a 7-2 advantage in made 3-pointers, and the NAIA member outrebounded the P5/SEC opponent 38-36.

Auburn outshot XULA 43.3 to 32.1 percent from the floor and was plus-17 in turnovers, committing 13 and gaining 30. The Tigers dominated at the line, making 16-of-27 free throws to XULA's 3-of-5. The Gold Nuggets missed their only free-throw attempt of the second half.

It was the first of three road games in six days for XULA. The Gold Nuggets will visit unbeaten LSU-Shreveport at noon Saturday, then travel to Dallas for a 2 p.m. Tuesday game at Paul Quinn.

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
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Ole Miss Rebels Bounce Back With Victory Over Texas Southern

GAME VIDEO REPLAY 

OXFORD, Mississippi -- Ole Miss women's basketball needed a bounce-back win in a big way and came away with a solid victory over Texas Southern, topping the Lady Tigers, 73-58, at The Pavilion on Thursday afternoon.

The Rebels (10-3) improved to 8-0 at home this season and snapped a two-game losing streak with an all-around team win over TSU (5-6). This marks the fifth time in the five-year era under Matt Insell that the Rebels have won at least nine games in non-conference and the third time in the Insell era that the Rebels have won 10 or more. This is also the second-straight year that Ole Miss has started 8-0 or better at home (the 2016-17 squad started 11-0 at home).

"This is a good win for us," Insell said. "Texas Southern is another team that was in the NCAA Tournament a year ago. We did not shoot the ball particularly well out of our main shooters, and I know they're going to shoot the ball a lot better than what they shot it there. But we executed a lot better offensively and we were a lot better defensively, which is something that we harped on for the last two days of practice."

Ole Miss started out hot, opening the game on a 12-0 run that ended with a 28-12 advantage by the end of the first quarter -- the most by the Rebels since scoring 30 in the first quarter vs. Delaware State. The Lady Tigers responded by outscoring the Rebels 32-28 in the second and third quarters combined to make it a 56-44 game heading into the fourth.

Much of that had to do with the awakening of TSU's Joyce Kennerson, who entered the day as the NCAA's second-best scorer at 26.1 points per game. After holding Kennerson scoreless in the first, she went on to score 24 points of the 46 total that Texas Southern scored in the final three quarters.

"(Kennerson) made some shots, but she went 7-of-20 from the field, and we'll take that," Insell said.

After getting beat on the boards and defensively the past two games, the Rebels adjusted with a tough defensive outing (making Texas Southern the eighth Rebel opponent this season held under 60 points) and a plus-six advantage in rebounding. That rebounding total was helped greatly by a career-high 10 boards from Bree Glover, who earned her first career start.

"We had a lot of changes, and we still have a lot of changes that we have to make that we were exposed on when we went out West," Insell said.



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Part of that was starting sophomore Shelby Gibson at center for the first time this season. Gibson led the scoring barrage, recording a career-high 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting and a 5-of-7 clip from the charity stripe in 25 minutes played. Gibson also chipped in with six rebounds.

"Shelby is an experienced player," Insell said. "She's somebody that's played in this league, she's somebody that knows what it takes to play at the level in the SEC. She's been a proven player in our league, and I just told her when we got back from Christmas that it's time for you to start playing again."

Also scoring in double-digits for Ole Miss were juniors Alissa Alston (17 points) and Madinah Muhammad (10 points, four assists, three rebounds, three steals). Alston extends her double-digit streak to a career-long five games and has scored at least 17 in six of 11 games played this year. Muhammad, meanwhile, tallied her 11th double-figure scoring game in 13 opportunities this season.

Another important storyline from Thursday was the return of sophomore forward Kate Rodgers, who had missed the previous six games since suffering a sprained MCL at Temple on Nov. 25. Rodgers scored two points and hauled in four boards in just five minutes played.

"Kate is somebody that is one of our best rebounders that we've needed, and we haven't had her," Insell said.

With non-conference now in the rearview mirror, the Rebels look ahead to a grueling SEC slate -- beginning with a key road test at Arkansas on New Year's Eve at 2 p.m.

"It's going to be a good game," Insell said. "I think they're a lot better than where they were picked in the league, and I think we're a lot better than where we were picked in the league. It's an SEC road game, those games are tough. We're going to have to play really well to get a win. We know that, and we're prepared for that. We've challenged our team in the non-conference with good teams, and we're excited for the opportunity to play a good Arkansas team."

Follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWBB, Facebook at Ole Miss WBB on Instagram at Ole MissWBB and on Snapchat with the handle @OleMissWBB. Fans can also follow Ole Miss women's basketball head coach Matt Insell on Twitter at @minsell.

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Bouldin's Career-High Leads UTC Mocs in Win Over Hampton

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee --- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore Lakelyn Bouldin and senior Aryanna Gilbert put on a show from long range combining on 10 3-pointers to lead the Mocs to a 64-52 win over Hampton to close out the non-conference slate.

Both hit for career-bests from the 3-point line. Bouldin was 6-of-8, the most since Kayla Christopher had seven at St. Mary's (CA) College on Nov. 23, 2012, and Gilbert had four 3-pointers.

Bouldin had a career-high 32 points to lead the Mocs to its ninth win of the season, besting the high water mark 23 that she scored against UT Martin earlier this year. She was 9-of-17 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. She added in a season-high seven rebounds while playing all 40 minutes.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

ESPN3 VIDEO REPLAY

Gilbert was 4-of-6 on the day, all from the 3-point line, with five rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Arianne Whitaker was the third Chattanooga player in double figures matching her season-high 10 points with five rebounds. She was 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-4 from the free throw line.

The Mocs started the game down 7-2 less than three minutes into the game. Gilbert hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put UTC up 8-7 with Whitaker dropping in a layup at the 5:30 mark to complete the 8-0 run. Hampton briefly retook the lead, but it would be Bouldin's first 3-pointer of the game with 2:35 to play in the first to make it 15-13 and the Mocs would not trail the rest of the way.

After Hampton's Allina Starr tied the game 18-18 with 7:25 to play in the second quarter, Bouldin unleashed three straight 3-pointers for nine of Chattanooga's 12 points in the frame. She closed out the first half with 16 points.

Gilbert and Bouldin combined for 11 points to start the third quarter for the Mocs to give Chattanooga its first double-digit lead of the game, 40-28 with 6:24 to play in the frame. Two minutes later the Mocs embarked on a 9-0 run behind Arianne Whitaker with five points, to make it 49-30 with 36 seconds remaining in the period.

Bouldin's sixth 3-pointer, with 6:23 to play in the game, was the Mocs final basket. Over the remainder of the period, Chattanooga was 8-of-10 from the free throw line.

Chattanooga shot 50 percent from the field making 19-of-38 while Hampton was held to 21-of-59 (35.6%). The Mocs made a season-high 10-of-15 (66.7%) from the 3-point line. It was their second game this season with at least 10 treys. UTC outrebounded Hampton 37-25.

Shelbie Davenport matched her career-high for rebounds, leading the Mocs with eight and Bria Dial had four rebounds and three assists.

For the fourth time this season, the Mocs topped the 20-turnover mark with 24 and it was the second time UTC got a win with more than 20 miscues. Hampton scored 26 of its 52 points off turnovers and outscored the Mocs 22-8 in the paint.

Monnazjea Finney-Smith led the Pirates with 17 points, making 5-of-10 from the 3-point line and had five rebounds. Dejane' James, Ashley Bates and Starr each had eight points with Bates pulling down a team-best six rebounds.

Chattanooga will host UNCG Thursday, Jan. 4 in a double-header with the men's team at the McKenzie Arena to open Southern Conference action. Tickets are on sale at the McKenzie Arena box office and online at GoMocs.com.

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MSU McCowan's Big Night Powers Bulldogs To 14-0 in Rout of MVSU Delta Devils

STARKVILLE, Mississippi – Teaira McCowan scored 41 points as No. 5/3 Mississippi State beat Mississippi Valley State 112-36 in women's basketball game played Thursday night at Humphrey Coliseum.

A crowd of 8,535 – fourth-largest in program history – saw the 14-0 Bulldogs finish non-conference play with a perfect record for a second-straight season. It is the fourth time in program history for the Bulldogs to accomplish that feat, three times coming in the last four years.

"I want to thank the crowd," MSU head coach Vic Schaefer said. "They provided a great atmosphere for our student-athletes and for Mississippi Valley's. The second and third quarters were more indicative of what we are expecting out of this program."

The Bulldogs scored the program's third-largest point total in a game, while matching the second-largest margin of victory in a game. McCowan had the 12th 40-plus point game in school history, tying Morgan William for eighth place.

"Teaira was dominating," Schafer said. "Even though she does not have a lot of size on her, she is making some shots. She has that touch that you need to make more shots. She is getting better each game. I am pleased with T. She was a good helper."

McCowan's 41 points paired with 13 rebounds and five blocked shots for her 10th double-double of the season.



GAME VIDEO REPLAY

Victoria Vivians added 16 points, while Roshunda Johnson had 14 points. Vivians had six rebounds. Jordan Danberry led the team with seven assists, while Johnson and Blair Schaefer each had five assists.

The Bulldogs built a 12-4 lead less than three minutes into the contest. The Devilettes closed back within five at 19-14 with 2:53 left in the first quarter.

McCowan and Johnson scored back-to-back baskets to cap a 6-0 run, giving the Bulldogs a 29-16 lead after one quarter.

In the second quarter, the Bulldogs turned up the defensive pressure and held the guests to four points.

MSU hit 12 of 19 shots from the field for a second straight quarter to build a 59-20 lead at halftime.

For the contest, MSU hit 45 of 73 shots from the field (61.6 percent), 8 of 19 shots from 3-point range (42.1 percent) and 14 of 19 shots from the foul line (73.7 percent). MVSU hit 13 of 53 shots from the field (24.5 percent), 0 of 5 shots from 3-point range (0 percent) and 10 of 16 shots from the foul line (62.5 percent).

MSU held a 42-32 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 28 assists and six turnovers, while the Devilettes had three assists and 25 turnovers

MVSU (0-12) received 10 points from Kristy Parker.

MSU will open Southeastern Conference play at Georgia Sunday. The game is set for a 5 p.m. CT start and will be shown nationally on the SEC Network.

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Seattle Redhawks Rolls Over Grambling State Tigers for 10th Win

PHOTO BY SARAH FINNEY
SEATTLE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

SEATTLE, Washington – In front of a sold-out crowd at the Connolly Complex Thursday night, Seattle University men's basketball rolled to its 10th win of the season, using a huge first half to propel a 93-63 win over Grambling State.

The Redhawks move to 9-1 at home and 10-6 overall. The Tigers fall to 4-9 on the season.

Seattle U shot nearly 49 percent from the field in the opening frame, but it was the defensive effort that ultimately put the game away early. Grambling State managed just seven first-half field goals, shooting 26 percent from the field and 1-of-7 from three.

The Redhawks scored 12 points off turnovers and allowed just three offensive boards as they built a 46-19 halftime advantage. They would also hold the Tigers scoreless for the final 6:30 of the half.

Grambling State would show some life to start the second half, opening with a 12-2 run to pull within 17, 48-31. But Seattle U would answer with a 17-7 run and the lead would barely fall below 20 points for the balance of the game.

"We came ready to play tonight," said Head Coach Jim Hayford. "The first half was maybe our best 20 minutes of basketball this season. Credit Grambling, they showed a lot of character to come back and be so competitive in the second half. And the way that we had to respond made us better."

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Josh Hearlihy led all scorers with 21 points, including 8-of-9 from the charity stripe. The senior guard/forward combo added four rebounds, three assists and two steals to go along with zero turnovers.

Morgan Means added 14 points off the bench and Aaron Menzies collected his sixth double-double of the year, finishing with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Matej Kavas scored 12 points off four three-pointers to round out four players in double figures.

Ivy Smith, Jr., led Grambling State with 19 points while DeVante Jackson chipped in 11 off the bench.

"There was a lot of great energy in Connolly tonight," Hayford said of the sold-out crowd. "We're looking forward to that again on Saturday as we look to finish non-conference play with a win."

Seattle U will close out non-conference play on Saturday, Dec. 30, hosting UC Riverside in the sixth game of a nine-game homestand. Tip-off from the Connolly Complex is set for 1 p.m. The game will stream live on the WAC Digital Network and can be heard live on KTTH 770 AM.

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