Troy Falls at Little Rock

Thursday, January 19

Little Rock, Ark.

6:30 PM

Troy University

12-5, 5-1

Little Rock

12-6, 6-0

Troy

Little Rock

1/19/2017 9:54:00 PM | Basketball (W)

Box Score Box Score

By: Wes Johnson

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas – In a clash between Sun Belt Conference unbeatens, Little Rock came out ahead of Troy, 77-74, at Jack Stephens Center on Thursday.

With six seconds remaining, Little Rock's Kaitlyn Pratt missed a pair of free throws giving Troy one final opportunity to tie the game. A turnover, however, ended the threat and handed Little Rock the victory.

Troy (12-5, 5-1 SBC) shot the ball well, but struggled with the turnover bug. Despite hitting 6-of-11 field goals in the first period, the visiting Trojans turned the ball over nine times. Troy turned it over 24 times in the game, tied for the second highest total of the season. Senior ArJae' Saunders looked to return to form scoring 12 first half points and finished with a game-high 21. Caitlyn Ramirez turned in her fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Little Rock (12-6, 6-0) held Troy to just 54 shots, the team's lowest output of the season. Kaitlyn Pratt scored 20 points while Kyra Collier added 14 points with nine rebounds, nine assists and five steals.

Trailing by as many as 12 in the second quarter and 10 at halftime, Troy chipped away by attacking the basket and drawing fouls making 10 free throws in the third period alone. On a layup by Saunders to open the fourth period, Troy pulled ahead by three. Little Rock was able to reclaim the lead for good with five minutes remaining and extended the advantage to six moments later on a 3-pointer by Sharde' Collins, who finished with 16 points.

The loss snaps Troy's six-game winning streak and is the first stubble of the season in league play. Troy had been off to its best conference start (5-0) in program history.

QUOTABLE
"They are a good team and a well-coached team and it showed tonight," Troy head coach Chanda Rigby said. "They held us to just 54 shots in the game; we shot it 99 times against Tennessee. They did a great job of defending and we didn't make enough plays in the end. Hopefully, we'll get to play them two more times before the season is done."

UP NEXT
Troy will complete the Arkansas road swing with a trip to Jonesboro to face off against Arkansas State on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.

NOTEABLE
• Arjae' Saunders' 21 points is a season-high and eight points shy of her career-high.

• Troy outrebounded Little Rock 43-30 in the game.

• There were seven ties and eight lead changes in the contest.

• Troy falls to 0-9 against Little Rock on the road.

For more information on Troy women's basketball, visit TroyTrojans.com or follow the team on Twitter at @TroyTrojansWBB.

The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy. New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12. For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship – Women's Championship – and be sure to follow the @FunBelt on social media - @SunBelt.