A turnover-laden first half kept Thursday’s game closer than expected for a while, but the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff women’s basketball team pulled away in the second.
UAPB earned its first home win of the season by defeating Arkansas Baptist 85-51 at H.O. Clemmons Arena.
UAPB (3-5) led 35-32 after a first half which featured four lead changes. The Lady Lions turned the ball over 16 times, leading to 18 Baptist points.
Lady Lions Coach Erica Leak said she told her team at halftime the first half performance was unacceptable.
“It don’t matter who we’re playing,” Leak said. “If we’re playing TCU or Arkansas Baptist, we have to be true to what our identity is. We’ve been playing really good defense. If you go to North Alabama, our defense got us back in the game, and so, that was totally different than the start here. So, we started out slow. Halftime wasn’t pretty, but they responded.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The score remained close for the first 4 minutes of the second half. UAPB led 43-37 before closing the third quarter on a 16-2 run. Baptist did not score from the field again until the 5:55 mark of the fourth quarter as the Lady Lions pulled away.
UAPB outscored Baptist 23-7 in the third quarter and 27-12 in the fourth. The Lady Buffaloes shot 15.4 percent in the third.
The Lady Lions finished with 31 turnovers, their second-highest total this season only behind the 35 they had in their other home game, a 78-44 loss to Sam Houston State. UAPB didn’t do much to cut down on the turnovers in the second half but only gave up 5 points off of them.
UAPB sophomore forward Zoey Davis didn’t miss. She shot 7 of 7 from the field and 4 of 4 from the free throw line to finish with a game-high 18 points. She had scored two total points in 36 minutes in her prior six games this season.
Freshman guard Jakyra Jackson added a season-high 12 points with seven rebounds, seven assists and five steals. Junior guard Jailah Pelly followed with 10 points, five rebounds and six assists.
Leak said the 6-foot-2 Davis gave UAPB a size advantage in the post, and said she expects big things from Jackson as she comes back from a foot injury.
“I told (Davis), ‘No one’s out here going to block you. Go up strong, make your layups.’ So, I’m really happy for her to have that spark and to build that confidence, because we’re going to need her down the road,” Leak said. “I really think (Jackson) is a three-level scorer. We haven’t seen her three. We haven’t seen her pull up, but she is capable of all of that.”
Davis wasn’t the only reserve player to see notable minutes Thursday. Freshman forward Ruth Banjoko, freshman guard Jada James and senior forward Briah Hampton each scored their first points this season. Prior to this game, Banjoko had played 17 minutes, James 6 and Hampton 5 this season.
Each of the 12 players UAPB played on Thursday scored.
Junior guard Emani Wofford led the Lady Buffs with 14 points, followed by senior guard Ah’Jaia Kenner with 13.
UAPB hosted 1,641 fans in a crowd made up of mostly local elementary school students for Future Golden Lions Kids Club Day. The Lady Lions had played in front of similar-aged crowds in three of their previous road games.
Davis said the Lady Lions have gotten used to the high-pitched cheers from the young fans.
“It’s great,” Davis said. “It just builds the community, and we want to show out for them and show up for the community.”
