Superior size and numbers allowed the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff women’s basketball team to cruise past an in-state foe Wednesday night.
UAPB defeated Arkansas Baptist College 71-39 at H.O. Clemmons Arena for its second home win in three days.
UAPB (2-3) coach Erica Leak said she was happy to win the game, but the Lady Lions still need to improve a lot.
“We have to get better at our pressing the basketball,” Leak said. “Sticking to our defensive principles and not just trying to be overly aggressive because we think we have an advantage on a team. Just stay sound, stay steady, and do what we do every day in practice.”
Arkansas Baptist (0-1) has no players listed taller than 5-foot-11. One starter, guard Cherrel Dorton, is listed at 5-foot-5.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
UAPB has four players listed at 6-feet or taller, including 6-foot-4 center Mariam Traore and 6-foot-2 center Briontanay Marshall.
Junior guard Jazmyn Sostand, listed at 6-feet, said UAPB didn’t fully take advantage of the height difference, but it did help with rebounding.
“I ain’t going to say we had a lot of box outs,” Sostand said. “We could have done better, more rebounds against the team we played.”
The taller Lady Lions brought down 23 offensive rebounds to Baptist’s 10. Baptist collected 24 on the defensive end, meaning UAPB collected nearly 50 percent of its misses.
The size advantage didn’t translate to free throw opportunities. Baptist attempted 15 from the line, while UAPB shot 12, most of those coming in the fourth quarter.
Leak said the Lady Lions should have been more aggressive in getting to the basket and drawing fouls but instead settled for a lot of jump shots against Baptist’s 2-3 zone defense.
“When we’re aggressive, we can get to the line,” Leak said. “It just took us a while to be the aggressors tonight.”
Baptist dressed six players for this game, while UAPB played 11.
The Lady Buffaloes’ short bench bit them when starting forward Mackenzie Carter picked up her fourth foul in the third quarter. She sat for a while before reentering in the fourth quarter. She fouled out with 5:51 remaining, leaving Baptist without the ability to substitute the rest of the game.
Sostand scored a game-high 14 points with six rebounds. Guards Janiyah Tucker and Empress Roberts scored 10 each, with the duo combining for nine steals.
Baptist guard Ariel Jefferson led her team with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Defense continued to feed UAPB as it did two nights ago against Texas A&M-Texarkana. The Lady Lions forced 32 turnovers, including 21 steals, and scored 31 points off those takeaways.
After a slow start offensively on Monday, UAPB junior guard Kristyna Boyd made a 3-pointer on UAPB’s opening possession. Baptist briefly took a 4-3 lead, but the Lady Lions turned back-to-back turnovers into points to regain the lead, 7-4, and never trailed again.
UAPB took a 38-14 lead into halftime, but Baptist outscored the Lady Lions 14-8 in the third quarter. The Lady Lions took a timeout early in the fourth, then proceeded to outscore the Lady Buffaloes 25-11 to close out the game.