Trojans Win Against Red Wolves in Overtime on Senior Night
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Little Rock senior forward Teal Battle tied her career high, scoring 25 points during senior night on Feb. 13th, leading the Trojans to a thrilling 60-56 overtime win over rival Arkansas State.
Battle hit three back-to-back 3-pointers to get Little Rock back from a deficit and force an overtime period.
“I knew I had to score since they were packing the paint up a little bit and they were just kind of leaving the arc open,” Battle said. “As it went in, I had to keep my composure. I couldn’t get too hype, couldn’t get too excited. I had to move to the next play, because the game isn’t over until the horn goes completely off.”
She extended that hot shooting into overtime, hitting another pair of 3-pointers, which led her to a career-best scoring output and her first double-double of the season as she added 11 rebounds.
With the win, Little Rock (12-7, 8-4 Sun Belt) swept the rivalry weekend series over Arkansas State (9-9, 4-8), while the Red Wolves lost their seventh-straight game. The Trojans also continued their perfect record at home against A-State as the Red Wolves are winless all-time at the Jack Stephens Center.
Freshman guard Tia Harvey exceeded her career high for the second straight game, scoring 16 points. Senior forward Krystan Vornes almost closed out her senior night game with a double-double, scoring 12 points and nine rebounds. Vornes’ performance was critical in overtime, hitting four out of four free throws down the stretch refusing A-State to come back.
Trinitee Jackson led A-State with 13 points, followed by Payton Martin with 12 points. Martin, who entered the weekend with over 1,000 career points, was unable to provide another scoring option for the Red Wolves in overtime after fouling out. It was a tough loss for the Red Wolves. Head coach Matt Daniel was way more pleased with the fight in Saturday’s game, although it didn’t make the loss easier.
“It stung more in the locker room today. The reason it stung more is because we invested more,” Daniel said.
The Little Rock seniors had an outstanding performance Saturday, refusing to lose on their senior night against the Red Wolves. Little Rock head coach Joe Foley couldn’t be more proud of his two senior stepping up.
“Great night for the seniors, [Vornes] hit big free throws and Teal hit big three’s so I can’t even express enough how much I appreciate those seniors.”
Little Rock now travels to Monroe for a two-game Sun Belt Conference series starting Feb. 19 at 3 p.m.