Maya Peat let Alabama State know how Monday night’s game would go from the opening possession.
The senior University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff forward led the Lady Lions basketball team to an 85-52 home win at H.O. Clemmons Arena to wrap up the first weekend of conference play.
Peat scored the game’s first 6 points, helping UAPB (7-8, 2-0 SWAC) build an early 16-0 lead. She finished with 17 points and seven rebounds despite playing just 18 minutes.
UAPB coach Dawn Thornton said Peat has shown a lot of improvement this season and was a big part of the win.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“One thing that we’ve been talking to Maya about is challenging her to tap into a different mode,” Thornton said. “She’s accepted the challenge. She’s been in the gym after practice. She stayed after shootaround today. She really wants to make a name for herself in this conference. She feels a little slighted, a little overlooked.”
Three other Lady Lions reached double digits. Coriah Beck scored 15 points with five rebounds. Zaay Green scored 14 points and collected eight boards, while Kourtney Rittenbery added 11 points and five rebounds.
UAPB’s other primary post player, Maori Davenport, added 8 points and 10 rebounds. As a team, UAPB dominated scoring in the paint 48-18 and outrebounded the Lady Hornets 46-31.
Peat said the Lady Lions’ mindset helped them dominate post play.
“We went out there and said we’re going to get every rebound,” Peat said. “We’re going to be more dominant. We’re going to be tougher than their post players.”
Defensively, UAPB forced 32 turnovers while only giving up the ball 11 times, dominating points off turnovers 35-5.
ASU (1-12, 1-1) didn’t score until the 5:20 mark of the first quarter. UAPB led by as much as 29-5 in the first, ultimately leading 33-11 entering the second after two late 3-pointers by ASU’s April Hooks, who finished with a team-high 13 points. The Lady Lions forced 13 turnovers in the first quarter, helping them build their lead.
Thornton said Peat’s early buckets helped the other shooters get open.
“I think once you kind of get the post going early, it makes it a little easier for the guards to get shots,” Thornton said. “The inside-out game is something that we really talk about. They sat in a zone, so any time that you sit in a zone like that, we want to try to pound the ball inside. That gives us a better opportunity to look at some one-on-one situations.”
The Lady Lions went cold in the second quarter as the Lady Hornets tightened up their post defense and rebounding, giving UAPB fewer second-chance opportunities. UAPB missed its first six shots and ended the quarter shooting 25%. Still, the Lady Lions kept up their defense and led 45-24 at halftime.
UAPB’s offense warmed back up in the third quarter as the Lady Lions made five of their first seven shots en route to outscoring the Lady Hornets 24-17. The shooting slowed down again in the fourth, but it didn’t matter as the Lady Lions closed out their second SWAC win and moved to 2-0 in SWAC play for the first time under Thornton.