Missed opportunities added up for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff on Monday as the women’s basketball team fell short at home.
Prairie View A&M defeated UAPB 68-61 in the first SWAC game of the season at H.O. Clemmons Arena.
UAPB (2-11, 0-3 SWAC) shot 16 of 32 from the free throw line. The Lady Lions had been one of the better free throw shooting teams in the SWAC earlier in the season but haven’t maintained it.
UAPB guard D’Arrah Allen said the missed free throws are mental.
“Mentally being there, being able to come to the line and just believe that you’re going to make your free throws,” Allen said. “So, I just really feel like it was just mental fatigue. … They weren’t physically better than us. They weren’t skilled better than us. It was just mental with us today.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Prairie View A&M (4-9, 1-3) shot only marginally better from the line, 16 of 25, but the Lady Panthers handled business at the rim, making 17 of their 20 layup tries.
UAPB made nine of its 25 layup attempts. Missed layups have been an issue this season, but Coach Erica Leak said the Lady Lions work on layups every day in practice.
“That’s something that I see them make all the time,” Leak said. “I don’t know what is the disconnect from practicing to the game, but they make that every single day. So again, we just have to keep practicing game-like speeds. That way, it’s not a big difference when you hit the court against competition.”
UAPB, which entered the game shooting 31.4% this season, made 50% of its shots in the first quarter and led 18-15 entering the second. The Lady Lions followed that by shooting 45.5% in the second, but the shots slowed down in the second half.
A 2-of-11 shooting performance by UAPB in the fourth quarter allowed the Lady Panthers to put the game away and earn their first SWAC win.
Allen finished with a game-high 21 points, with Kristyna Boyd adding 12 points and 10 rebounds. Crystal Schultz led Praire View with 12 points, followed by Mikayla Hutchinson with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Allen had 16 points at halftime after shooting 4 of 5 from 3-point range. The Lady Lions as a team were 5 of 8 from deep at the break but did not attempt a 3-pointer in the second half.
Leak said UAPB got away from the 3-pointer after Prairie View changed from zone to man defense.
“I think they made an adjustment and went to man, and they were playing more aggressive, and so that corner shot was not open,” Leak said. “I did think we did a good job on penetrating and getting to the basket. We got to the basket, got the fouls drawn, but we just didn’t capitalize on the free throws.”