Game 31
ARKANSAS STATE RED WOLVES
vs. UALR Trojans
SUN BELT CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT ROUND 2
Sunday, March 7, 2010 12:15 p.m.
Summit Arena/Hot Springs Convention Center Hot Springs, Arkansas
Radio: KWHF 95.9 FM "The Wolf" & AStateRedWolves.com
LiveStats & Video Webcasting Available at SunBeltSports.org
TIPPING IT OFF: The Arkansas State Red Wolves take on in-state rival UALR in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Sunday at Summit Arena in Hot Springs. The game will be the 51st meeting between the two teams, but the Red Wolves and Trojans will be meeting in the SBC Tournament for the first time ever. Tipoff is set for 12:15 p.m. All ASU games may be heard on KWHF 95.9 FM "The Wolf" and through the StateZone portion of AStateRedWolves.com. LiveStats may also be accessed by logging on to SunBeltSports.org
THE TEAMS: Eighth-seeded Arkansas State Arkansas State defeated ninth-seeded Troy 60-54 Saturday in the opening round of the tournament to advance to the quarterfinal matchup with UALR. As the top seed in the tournament, the Trojans earned a bye into the quarterfinals.
ASU IN THE TOURNAMENT: The Red Wolves have participated in 18 Sun Belt Conference tournaments, reaching the semifinal round in 14 of those years. Arkansas State reached the finals in 1992, losing to Western Kentucky 65-62 in their only appearance in the championship game. In last year's tournament, the Red Wolves suffered a first-round 80-74 loss in Jonesboro to the Mean Green of North Texas after defeating UNT twice during the regular season.
JEFFERSON EARNS ALL-SBC HONORS: Arkansas State senior Ebonie Jefferson (Laurel, Miss.) has been named to the All-Sun Belt Conference second-team after leading the Red Wolves in scoring at 14.8 points per game during the 2009-10 season.
Ranked fourth among all players in the Sun Belt in scoring, Jefferson scored in double figures in 23 of the Red Wolves' 29 games this season. A preseason All-Sun Belt Conference third team selection, and currently ranked among the league's leaders in five statistical categories, she posted six games of 20 points or more and scored a career-high 27 points against Missouri State Nov. 27.
Jefferson is on track to receive her degree in public relations in May, she recently became just the 18th player in ASU women's basketball history to reach 1,000 points, and heading into the SBC Tournament is ranked No. 15 on the all-time ASU scoring chart with 1,064 points.
"This is a very deserving honor for Ebonie," said ASU head coach Brian Boyer. "It just shows you the respect that the coaches across the league have for her. She has worked extremely hard and battled through a lot of pain in her knees to have the type of season that she has had."
Jefferson has posted two double-doubles on the season and has pulled down double-digit rebounds on three occasions. Her rebounding average of 5.8 ranks her 19th in the league, she is averaging 2.4 offensive rebounds to rank 14th in the Sun Belt and she is ranked sixth in the league with a 2.2 steals per game average. She is also ranked 10th in the Sun Belt in minutes played at 34.4 per game and has started 28 of ASU's 29 games this year. She also finished the regular season in 11th place on the all-time ASU steals chart with 156 steals to her credit.
THE UALR SERIES: Arkansas State holds a 42-8 advantage in the overall series. The Red Wolves lead 26-3 in games played in Jonesboro and 16-5 advantage in games played at UALR. Sunday's game will be the first meeting between the two teams on a neutral court.
VIEWING GUIDE:
Sunday, March 7
Game 6 - 12:00 p.m. - No. 1 UALR vs. ASU or Troy - SBC Extra, Live Stats
Game 7 - 12:15 p.m. - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 - Live Stats
Game 8 - 2:15 p.m. - No. 2 Middle Tennessee vs. Winner Game 5 - SBC Extra, Live Stats
Game 9 - 2:30 p.m. - No. 3 WKU vs. Winner Game 3 - Live Stats
Monday, March 8
Game 10 - 12:00 p.m. - Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7 - Sun Belt Network, ESPN Full Court*, ESPN 360*, SBC Extra* (subject to blackout)
Game 11 - 2:30 p.m. - Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9 - Sun Belt Network, ESPN Full Court*, ESPN 360*, SBC Extra* (subject to blackout)
Tuesday, March 9
Championship Game - 1 p.m. - ESPNU, ESPN 360
ASU SETS SCHOOL RECORD FOR BLOCKED SHOTS: With their two blocked shots Saturday in the opening round against Troy, Arkansas State set a new high for blocked shots in a single season with 128, surpassing the old mark of 127 set by the 1987-88 team.
JEFFERSON NAMED SBC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Arkansas State senior guard Ebonie Jefferson (Laurel, Miss.) was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week for her performance in the Red Wolves two victories last week, the league office announced Monday, Feb. 1.
Jefferson posted her second double-double of the season and the third of her career when she scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Red Wolves' 67-56 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette Jan. 27. She followed that up with a 21-point, six-rebound effort in ASU's 74-58 victory over Denver Jan. 30. For the week, Jefferson connected on an impressive 16-of-31 (.516) shots from the floor, grabbed 17 rebounds, seven of which were on the offensive end, and added four steals and three assists.
"Ebonie is very deserving of this recognition," said ASU head coach Brian Boyer. "I thought she played extremely well this week in all aspects of the game. She scored, she rebounded the ball extremely well, her defense was outstanding and she
made good decisions with the ball."
MILESTONE FOR JEFFERSON: When Arkansas State senior guard Ebonie Jefferson scored her fourth point against Western Kentucky Feb. 10, she became just the 18th ASU women's basketball player to reach the 1,000-point milestone in her career. Jefferson finished the night with 17 points and is currently ranked No. 15 on the all-time ASU scoring chart with 1,064 points.
WEEK-LONG BLOCK PARTY: Arkansas State tied its season high for blocked shots in a game with seven Feb. 8 against Louisiana-Monroe, then set a new high when the Red Wolves swatted away 10 Western Kentucky shots in the Red Wolves' next game Feb. 10. The 10 blocked shots against Western Kentucky also tied the school record for a single game, matching ASU's 10-block effort against Mississippi College during the 1987-88 season. Junior Shay Scott led the way against the Hilltoppers with a career-high five blocks, while junior Lyndsay Schlup led the way against ULM with three blocks. With 106 blocks on the season, the Red Wolves have a shot to break the team blocked shots record of 127 set during the 1987-88 season.
MILESTONE VICTORY: Arkansas State's 68-64 victory over Southern Illinois Dec. 23 marked the 100th career victory for ASU head coach Brian Boyer in games played at the ASU Convocation Center. With the victory, Arkansas State improved to 100-42 (.704) in all games played at the Convo under Boyer.
BREAKING A TREND: With their victory at North Texas Jan. 16, the Red Wolves picked up their first victory of the season in which an opponent won the battle on the boards. Heading into the game, the Red Wolves were 0-9 on the season when being out-rebounded by their opponent. North Texas out-rebounded Arkansas State 44-40 in the game, but ASU came out on top 77-76.
WORKING OVERTIME: Heading into their Feb. 10 game at Western Kentucky, Arkansas State was 11-0 in regular season overtime games under head coach Brian Boyer, but the Red Wolves came up on the short end of an 83-78 overtime final against the Hilltoppers, giving ASU its first regular-season overtime loss under Boyer. Eight of those games have been played on the road, including this year's 80-79 victory at Kansas State, the Red Wolves' 65-62 win at Northern Arizona and ASU's 83-78 loss at Western Kentucky. Arkansas State's four overtime games and three victories this season are the most ever in a single season for ASU. The Red Wolves played three overtimes in three previous seasons (1983-84, 1989-90 and 2002-03) but finished 2-1 in those games each year. In all overtime games played under Boyer, the Red Wolves stand at 11-3, falling to New Mexico State in double overtime in the 2004 Sun Belt Conference Tournament, to New Orleans in the 2002 SBC Tournament and to WKU this season in Bowling Green.
Overtime Games Under Boyer
2009-10 - WKU 83, ASU 78
2009-10 - ASU 67, UT-Arlington 60
2009-10 - ASU 65, @ Northern Arizona 62
2009-10 - ASU 80, @ Kansas State 79
2008-09 - ASU 76, @ Indiana St. 68
2007-08 - ASU 72, FIU 64
2006-07 - ASU 65, @ ULL 58
2004-05 - ASU 85, @ FIU 74
2003-04 - ASU 86, @ UALR 79
2003-04 - N. Mexico St. 71, ASU 56 (2OT)
at Bowling Green, Kentucky
Sun Belt Conference Tournament
2002-03 - ASU 69, UNO 63
2002-03 - ASU 63, Belmont 62
2001-02 - UNO 51, ASU 47
at New Orleans, Louisiana
Sun Belt Conference Tournament
2000-01 - ASU 79, @ McNeese 74
BOYER CLIMBING: With 96 Sun Belt Conference victories, ASU head coach Brian Boyer is now fourth all-time in Sun Belt Conference wins. Heading into the current season, Boyer trailed FIU head coach Cindy Russo, who was in third place with 94 wins to her credit and now has 103. Former Louisiana Tech head coach Leon Barmore tops the list with 135 SBC victories. With 179 overall victories to his credit, Boyer is in second place on the Arkansas State all-time wins list, trailing only Jerry Ann Winters, who finished with 196 victories in 11 seasons at ASU.
RECORDS WATCH: With her four rebounds against Troy March 6, junior forward Shay Scott sits in eighth place on the ASU all-time rebounding chart with 662 rebounds in her career. Charlotte Fields (1984-86, 88) is in seventh place with 707 rebounds during her career. Scott is also in fifth place on the ASU blocked shots career chart with 76 and now trails Fields who blocked 80 shots in her career to finish in fourth place. Tied with Scott is senior forward Lyndsay Schlup with 76. Both Schlup and Scott are climbing the single-season blocked shots chart as well. Schlup has blocked 35 shots so far this season to rank as the seventh-best, while Scott has 30 to sit in ninth place. With 10 rebounds against Troy, Schlup increased her season total to 238 and moved into 10th place on the ASU career rebounding chart with 628. Senior guard Ebonie Jefferson is now in sole possession of 11th place on the all-time steals chart after notching one more against Troy to bring her total to 157. She trails Casie Lowman (2000-03) who had 168 steals during her career. Jefferson moved into 14th place on the all-time scoring chart at Arkansas State with 1,078 points with 14 points against Troy.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Senior forward Lyndsay Schlup (17 points, 10 rebounds) and junior forward Shay Scott (18 points, 14 rebounds) each registered a double-double Feb. 10 at Western Kentucky, marking the third time this season that two ASU players have posted a double-double in the same game and the second time the two have paired up. Senior guard Ebonie Jefferson (23 points, 11 rebounds) and Scott (16 points, 10 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles in ASU's 65-62 overtime win at Northern Arizona Dec. 5. Schlup and Scott both recorded double-doubles against Arkansas-Pine Bluff Nov. 18 to mark the Red Wolves' first game with two double-doubles since Scott and senior guard Ebonie Jefferson each doubled-up against North Texas during the 2007-08 season. Schlup finished the UAPB game with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Scott scored 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
ANOTHER DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR SCOTT - Junior forward Shay Scott notched her seventh double-double of the season and 18th of her career when she scored 18 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the season finale against Troy Feb. 27. Scott has now doubled up against Troy, WKU, South Alabama (16 pts., 13 rebs. Jan. 10,) Texas-Arlington (16 pts., 13 rebs. Dec. 15), Northern Arizona (16 pts., 10 rebs. Dec. 5), UAPB (10 pts., 12 rebs. Nov. 18) and Kansas State (15 pts., 11 rebs. Nov. 16).
DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR SCHLUP - Senior forward Lyndsay Schlup recorded the her fourth double-double of the season and fifth of her career March 6 when she scored 10 points to go along with 10 rebounds against Troy.
THINK PINK: The Arkansas State women's basketball team partnered once again with the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association and Healthcare Medical Group in their annual "Pink Zone" initiative when the Red Wolves hosted the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky Saturday, Feb. 20 at the Convocation Center.
The WBCA "Pink Zone" initiative is a global, unified effort for coaches and players to assist in raising cancer awareness on the court, across campuses and in the community. The Red Wolves promoted cancer awareness by honoring cancer survivors on the court prior to the game and at halftime. Arkansas State players also wore custom-designed pink uniforms in the game, with the names of cancer survivors replacing the players' names on the backs of their jerseys.
EB ON A ROLL: After scoring seven points in ASU's season opener at Creighton, senior guard Ebonie Jefferson has scored in double figures in all but six of ASU's games since, including double-doubles in the Red Wolves' wins over Northern Arizona and ULL. One week after earning all-tournament honors at the Nov. 20-21 Seton Hall Classic, Jefferson scored a career-high 27 points against Missouri State Nov. 27 to help her average a team-best 21.7 points in ASU's three games during the week of Nov. 24-30. Jefferson opened her week with a 20-point performance against Louisiana Tech, added 27 against Missouri State and finished the week with 18 at Saint Louis. For the week, Jefferson shot 50% from the field (21-42), .821 from the line (23-28) and averaged 5.7 rebounds per game. She also added six steals, six assists and a blocked shot. In Arkansas State's only game the following week, Jefferson scored a game-high 23 points and completed her second career double-double with 11 rebounds in ASU's 65-62 overtime victory at Northern Arizona Dec. 5. She hit 9-of-14 shots from the field against the Lumberjacks, five-of-7 from the line and added three steals in the game.
ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS: Senior Ebonie Jefferson was named to the all-tournament team at the Anaconda Sports & The Rock Seton Hall Classic last weekend following her performance in ASU's two games. Jefferson scored in double figures in both of ASU's games, finishing with 11 points against Virginia Commonwealth in the Red Wolves' opening game before repeating the effort in Saturday's consolation game against Seton Hall. Jefferson also had five steals and eight rebounds in the two-game classic. Jefferson was joined on the team by Kandice Green of Seton Hall, Corin Adams and Erin Hawkins of Morgan State and La'Tavia Rorie and D'Andra Moss of VCU, with Moss earning MVP honors.
SCHLUP SHINES: Senior forward Lyndsay Schlup was outstanding on the boards for Arkansas State during the week of Nov. 24-30. Schlup opened the week with a 6-rebound performance against Louisiana Tech, cleaned the glass for 13 rebounds against Missouri State, then topped that figure with 15 more against Saint Louis. For the week, Schlup averaged 11.3 rebounds per game and added four blocked shots and four steals. She currently leads the Red Wolves on the boards, averaging 8.4 rebounds per game and has five double-digit rebounding games this season.
HOT SHOOTING: Although the Red Wolves came up on the short end of a 75-69 score, Arkansas State made a season-high eight 3-pointers at Saint Louis Nov. 30 and shot a season-high .533 (8-15) from behind the arc.
CLEANING THE GLASS: The Red Wolves tied a Convocation Center record for rebounding in their 72-58 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff when ASU ripped down 71 rebounds against the Golden Lions, matching the mark set against Ouachita Baptist Dec. 13, 1988. Arkansas State's 71 rebounds in the game was just shy of the school record of 75 set against UAPB during the 1975-76 season and are the most pulled down by any team in the Sun Belt this season. The Red Wolves' 34 offensive rebounds against UAPB topped the previous Convocation Center high of 33 set against Central Florida Feb. 14, 1991.
THE RED WOLVES AT HOME: Over the last five-plus years, the ASU women's basketball program boasts a winning percentage of .777 (77-22) at the ASU Convocation Center. The Red Wolves are 216-68 (.760) all-time at the Convocation Center and 105-45 (.700) under head coach Brian Boyer.
SBC HONORS: Arkansas State senior Ebonie Jefferson (Laurel, Miss.) has been named preseason third-team All-Sun Belt Conference, and the Red Wolves are picked third in the Sun Belt West Division preseason poll as voted on by the league's 13 head coaches, the conference office announced Oct. 20.
"I expect Ebonie to play at an all-conference level this season," said ASU head coach Brian Boyer. "I can't imagine that there is a tougher competitor or a harder worker in the league. I am so proud of how far Ebonie has come during her career, and I look forward to her continued improvement this season."
Jefferson scored in double figures in 14 of ASU's last 17 games a year ago, had 19 double-figure games on the season and led ASU in scoring with an 11.8 points-per-game average, a figure that climbed to 13.0 points-per-game in Sun Belt Conference play.
The Red Wolves return three of their top four scorers and four of the top five rebounders from last year's team that finished 16-14.
LAST TIME OUT: JONESBORO, Ark. (2/27/10) - The Arkansas State women's basketball team (12-17, 7-11) led by as much as 12 points early, but Troy (12-16, 5-13) came back to take a five-point halftime lead, never trailed in the second half and went on to hand the Red Wolves a 75-69 Sun Belt Conference setback in both team's regular-season finale at the Convocation Center.
Shay Scott picked up her seventh double-double of the season, recording 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead ASU. NeNe Hurst was the only other ASU player to reach double figures with 13 points, while Lyndsay Schlup and Meghan Lewis each added nine points.
The Red Wolves jumped out to a 16-4 lead just over five minutes into the game and led 20-8 with 11:55 remaining in the first half, but Troy responded with a 16-3 run to take a short-lived 24-23 lead at the 7:52 mark. ASU was able to retake the lead on its next possession and rebuilt a four-point advantage, 30-26, with 5:06 left, but Troy ended the first half with an 11-2 run to take a 37-32 lead into the intermission period.
ASU was able to tie the score twice in the second half, but was unable to ever regain the lead. With the scored tied 40-40 almost five minutes into the second half, the Trojans went on an 11-1 run over the next three minutes to open up their largest lead of the game at 51-41. ASU began to chip away at the lead, however, and was again able to tie the score at 59-59 with 5:36 left to play on a lay-up by Scott.
Two possessions later Troy took the lead for good on a Donette McNair lay-up and built its lead back to five points with 2:14 left in the game. The Red Wolves pulled back within 71-69 on a three by Lewis with 27 seconds to go, but couldn't get any closer as Troy scored the game's final four points at the free throw line.
Statistically, both teams were close in field goal percentage, rebounds and turnovers, but ASU made just 13-of-24 free throw attempts for a .542 percentage, while the Trojans made 24-of-31 attempts at the charity stripe for a .774 mark. ASU posted a higher three-point percentage at .533 (8-15), but Troy finished with one more make from beyond the arc (9-24).
ASU posted a slightly higher field goal percentage at .375 compared to Troy's .362, while the Trojans finished with 45 rebounds to the Red Wolves 43. ASU finished with four more assists and had one less turnover than Troy.
Troy was led by three players scoring in double figures, including Brittnie Davis with 21 points. Sophie Kleeman finished with 19 points and Kirsten Smith added 13 points for the Trojans.
ASU IN SEASON OPENERS: The Red Wolves are 20-16 all-time in season openers, with a record of 7-14 when opening the season on the road. Under head coach Brian Boyer, the Red Wolves are 6-5 in season-openers, including a 3-5 record when opening on the road.
INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP: In an effort to help acclimate Arkansas State's international students to life in the United States, the ASU women's basketball program began a partnership with the university's international community by holding a basketball clinic Sunday evening at the ASU Convocation Center.
Over 80 international students were on hand as the team members and coaching staff introduced themselves and introduced the students to Red Wolves women's basketball. The students joined the team on the court for drills and fundamental instruction, then enjoyed a pizza party to wrap up the night's activities.
"This is a semester-long project that got underway with the clinic last night," said ASU head coach Brian Boyer. "We wanted to let our international students know how much we appreciate them and to encourage them to be more involved with all of the activities on campus. We also wanted to increase their awareness of athletics here at Arkansas State, introduce them to the Convocation Center and allow them to get to know our team."
Arkansas State's players will partner with an international student throughout the semester, meeting with the student for at least an hour each week to help them become familiar with Arkansas State and ease their transition to life in the United States.
The women's basketball team will salute ASU's international students at the Nov. 18 home opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Next week's game has been designated as "International Students Night" at the Convocation Center.
RED WOLVES ADD MORRILL: JONESBORO, Ark. (11/11/09) - Arkansas State head coach Brian Boyer announced Wednesday that Scott City, Mo. standout Jane Morrill has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue her basketball career at Arkansas State University.
A 6'1" forward, Morrill is on pace to top the 1,000-point mark in her career at Notre Dame High School in Cape Girardeau, Mo. and averages 15.7 points and nine rebounds per game. She is a two-time All-Conference, All-District and All-Regional selection, earning conference MVP honors following her sophomore year with the Bulldogs. She has blocked 151 shots over the past two seasons at Notre Dame and is expected to finish her career as the school's all-time leader.
"From day one, Jane was our number one recruit, and we were so excited when she committed to us," said Boyer. "She is going to be an impact front-line player at this level. She is not only a very good scorer, but she is a very versatile post player. She understands the game and passes it very well for a player her size."
In addition to her skills on the basketball court, Morrill is a two-time All-State softball player at Notre Dame, also earning All-Conference, All-District and All-Regional honors along the way. She is the daughter of Alan and Carla Morrill.
"Jane is the total package," said Notre Dame head coach Renee Peters. "She has size, shooting ability, passing ability, shot blocking ability and rebounding ability. She knows the game so well. She can see the game set up and know how to thread the needle with passes. She is also an excellent perimeter shooter and ball handler. You are not going to see many girls her size take the ball behind their back when they take someone one-on-one. But she isn't someone who worries about cushioning stats and making herself look better; she wants to win and however that falls in place is fine with her."
QEDAN INKS WITH ASU: JONESBORO, Ark. (11/11/09) - Arkansas State head coach Brian Boyer announced Wednesday that Hanna Qedan, a 5'11" guard from Farmington, Ark., has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Red Wolves lineup for the 2010-11 season.
"Hanna can really shoot the ball," said Boyer. "To go along with that, she has very good size for a guard, so she is able to get a shot off on a lot of people. But the thing that really stands out about her is her explosiveness. She handles the ball just as well left or right, so she is more than just a shooter, she is a very good all-around guard."
The Farmington High School standout averages 19.4 points per game, 11.0 rebounds per game and four blocks per game. She has 19 double-doubles so far in her career and owns a 32-point career-high game. She was named All-Conference and an AAO Top 25 Camp nominee. She was selected to the All-Northwest Arkansas team, the All-County team, the KURM Dream Team and was a Top 10 All-American Camp participant.
"Hanna is a tenacious player on both ends of the floor," said Farmington head coach Brad Johnson. "She is a big guard who has a great face-up game. She can shoot it from outside, but probably her biggest asset is her explosiveness to the basket. She gets to the basket quickly with either hand and she is big enough and physical enough that she can take it down low and post up. She is a very versatile player and knowing the offensive sets that Coach Boyer runs at ASU, she is tailor-made for them offensively."
She is the daughter of Bashar and Jeri Qedan.
MADDOX SIGNS WITH ASU: JONESBORO, Ark. (11/11/09) - Arkansas State head coach Brian Boyer announced Wednesday that Millington (Tenn.) Central guard/forward Olivia Maddox has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue her basketball career at ASU.
Maddox, 5'11", was a Class 3-A All-State Tournament selection following her sophomore year in which she averaged 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and helped lead Millington to a state runner-up finish. She was also named Memphis Best of Preps and earned All-District honors following the 2007-08 season.
"Olivia has been a part of one of the most successful programs in the Memphis area," said Boyer. "In addition to being on a very successful team, they are very well balanced in terms of scoring. She is a great athlete who really fits our system well and is someone that our fans will enjoy watching over the next four years. Olivia is very athletic, very smooth to the basket and is a great offensive rebounder. It is unfortunate that she didn't get to play last year due to a knee injury, but her best basketball is ahead of her and we have all the confidence that she is going to be a great player for us."
"I think Arkansas State is getting a young lady with a lot of athleticism who has a lot of upside to her game," said Millington head coach Stan Gatlin. "She has great rebounding ability, jumping ability and great defensive intensity. She has the ability to play different positions from the wing to the post and will be a great addition to Arkansas State's team."
Maddox is the daughter of Rosalind Brown.
