The Opening Tip

     The Trojans travel to Denton, Texas for a key Sun Belt Conference West Division contest with North Texas Saturday (Jan. 26). Game time is set for 5 p.m.

     Unable to attend? There are multiple ways you can follow all the action. If you want to listen to audio, you can hear Phil Elson (Play-by-Play) either on terrestrial radio at 920 AM or via the world wide web by clicking here. For subscription video, you can watch on North Texas' athletic web site by clicking here. Finally, live stats can be found here.

Quick Hits

• UALR (12-7, 5-6) travels to Denton, Texas Saturday (Jan. 26) to take on North Texas in a key SBC West game.
• The Trojans hold a 5-3 advantage over North Texas when visiting the Super Pit. North Texas leads the series 7-6 in Little Rock.
• UALR is 7-3 since 2006-07 when it has lost to a team previously in the same season.
• Against Florida Atlantic Jan. 23, freshman Shanity James grabbed 13 boards and scored 11 points for her first career double-double and the second for a UALR freshman this season. Previously, Marian Kursh was the last UALR freshman to have a double-double (Western Kentucky Feb. 18, 2009).
• Saturday's game will end the regular season series between North Texas and UALR as conference foes.

Scouting North Texas

     North Texas (7-12, 6-4 SBC) looks to capture the all-important tie-breaker in Sun Belt Conference Tournament seeding when UALR visits Saturday (Jan. 26). The Mean Green won the first meeting of the season 68-65 Jan. 9 in Little Rock.

     In its last contest, North Texas led by as much as 13 against SBC-leading Middle Tennessee. However, the Blue Raiders cut the deficit to three at halftime and won comfortably, 60-47, Thursday (Jan. 24) in Denton. Loryn Goodwin led North Texas with 21 points, including hitting all seven free throws and a 4-6 mark from beyond the arc. Laura McCoy added 10.

     Scoring can come from anywhere for the Mean Green as North Texas has five players averaging nine points or more per game. Alexis Hyder leads the team in scoring and on the glass with 14.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, respectively. Loryn Goodwin leads the team in steals per game (2.8), is second in points per game (13.8) and is third in rebounds (5.0).

     To read more, click here.

Flashback to Earlier this Year

     The Trojans overcame a 14-point halftime deficit and took a lead late in the game, but it was not enough as UALR fell to North Texas, 68-65 , on Jan. 9.

     UALR used a strong rebounding effort and bench production to rally on North Texas. The Trojans won the rebounding battle 41-32. NT responded by hitting 52.6 percent (10-19) from behind the arc, including 71.4 percent (5-7) in the second half.

     Sophomore Taylor Gault came off the bench to lead all scorers with 26 points and three blocks. Senior Janette Merriex and junior Taylor Ford both added 11 points.

     For the Mean Green, Laura McCoy went 6-7 from three-point range for 23 points. Alexis Hyder added 17 while Loryn Goodwin came off the pine for 17. Hyder also added seven rebounds.

Crashing the Glass

     UALR has made quite the turnaround on the boards since the calender turned to 2013. After being out-rebounded in six of the first 13 games, UALR has out-muscled its opponents five times in the last six games.

     Jan. 23 against Florida Atlantic, UALR turned out a 56-24 edge on the glass. A +32 rebounding margin is the largest under head coach Joe Foley, surpassing the +23 (45-22) advantage on the glass against Arkansas State Feb. 25, 2012. It was only the third game under Coach Foley UALR was +20 or greater on the boards.

     UALR is +40 on rebounds for the season.

Career Records Watch

     A trio of players have their eyes on the UALR career record book. Senior Janette Merriex is third with 150 career threes, 62 behind second-place Jocelyn Love (2003-07). Junior Taylor Ford is eighth with 234 assists, just one behind Heather Morris (2003-06) and 44 behind Pam Tiller (1981-85). Finally, sophomore Taylor Gault is already 10th with 834 points, 144 behind ninth-place B.J. Higginbotham (1978-81).

Having a Block Party

     If last season was any indication, opposing players may want to think twice before entering the lane.

     UALR recorded the most blocks for a single season (114) in school history in 2011-12. It was the second time in coach Joe Foley's nine seasons a UALR squad hit the century mark (100 in the 2006-07 season). This season, UALR already has 98 blocks in 17 games, which easily leads the Sun Belt Conference.

     The Trojans are 14-3 when they record seven or more blocks a game under coach Foley.

     So far in 2012-13, UALR has 5.8 blocks per game. With a minimum of 30 games remaining, The Trojans are on pace to smash the single-season record and finish with 174 blocks. At this rate, UALR will set the new season standard at North Texas Jan. 26.

Trojans Rewind: Florida Atlantic

     The Trojans used a pair of double-digit runs and never looked back as UALR dismantled Florida Atlantic 77-45 Wednesday (Jan. 23) in Little Rock.

     Freshman Shanity James notched her first career double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Junior Taylor Ford added a career-best 16 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Taylor Gault came off the bench for a game-high of 17 points on 8-13 shooting.

     Tied at 13, UALR scored 12 unanswered. Later in the first half, Gault scored nine in a row to enter the top 10 in career scoring at UALR.

     For the game, UALR outrebounded FAU 56-24, the largest rebounding margin under Coach Foley. In fact, UALR only had four fewer offensive rebounds (20) than the Owls had total rebounds. UALR used a 20-6 advantage in the paint and a 20-6 edge in second chance points in winning by 32, matching its largest victory this season (vs. Oral Roberts, Nov. 21, 2012; 79-47).

     To read more, click here.

Next Up:

     UALR goes pink for its final non-conference regular season game of the year when it welcomes Louisiana Tech on Wednesday (Jan. 30). The contest will be the annual WBCA Think Pink Game to raise money for the battle against breast cancer and will be sponsored by QBot.