HOT SPRINGS, Ark.—A layup by Alysha Clark with 1.8 seconds remaining in overtime lifted Middle Tennessee over the UALR women’s basketball team 70-68 in overtime in the Sun Belt Conference Title game Tuesday at Summit Arena.  Four Trojans scored in double figures as UALR is now 26-6 overall.

Shanika Butler led the Trojans with 18 points and ten rebounds, while Asriel Rolfe recorded a career-high 17 points including five three-pointers and six assists.  Chastity Reed recorded 14 points and six assists, and Kim Sitzmann knocked down 11 points for the game.

Reed, Sitzmann, and Butler all earned Sun Belt All-Tournament team honors. 

Reed also set the UALR career record for rebounds at the end of the first half and now has 701 rebounds.  She broke the record that was set in 1985 by Adrian Brown.  Reed became the first women’s basketball since Brown to hold both the UALR career scoring and rebounding records.

UALR won the opening tip and knocked down the first points on a three-pointer by Sitzmann.  Both teams exchanged points, before back-to-back layups by Butler gave UALR the 9-4 lead at the 17:01 mark.

Middle Tennessee knocked down five straight points including a three-pointer by Jackie Pickel to tie the score with 14:02 on the clock.  Over the next two minutes, the Trojans outscored the Blue Raiders 6-4 with UALR’s points coming from two three-pointers by Rolfe.

A three-pointer by Pickel at the 11:10 mark gave MT the team’s first lead, but the Trojans answered back with a three-pointer by Sitzmann.  After a layup by Alysha Clark tied the score at 18, UALR went on a 10-0 run including six from Butler to gain the team’s largest lead of 28-18 at the 5:28 mark.

Over the next two minutes, the Blue Raiders outscored the Trojans 7-2 including four from Clark to cut the UALR advantage to 30-25 with 3:06 until the half.  After Sitzmann knocked down two free throws, Clark scored seven straight points for the Blue Raiders to tie the score at 32 going into the half.

After a layup by Marian Kursh from Reed opened the second half, Clark scored four straight points for the 35-34 MT lead with 16:22 on the clock.  A jumper by Reed sparked a 7-0 run by the Trojans to take the 41-35 lead.

Clark knocked down four points, before a layup by Reed followed by four-straight points by Butler gave the Trojans the 45-39 lead with 11:38 remaining.  Over the next three minutes, both teams exchanged points, until the 6:25 mark when Clark scored eight straight points to tie the score at 52 with 4:25 on the clock.

A three-pointer by Brandi Brown sparked a 5-0 run by MT to take the 57-52 lead, before Butler knocked down two free throws to bring the score to 57-54.  After a layup by Clark, a three-pointer by Rolfe and a steal and layup by Rolfe tied the score at 59 with 1:32.

Defenses for both teams held the remaining of the half scoreless to send it to overtime.

Both teams exchanged points to open overtime, before MT scored seven straight points including a three-pointer by Anne Marie Lanning that gave the Blue Raiders the 68-61 lead with 2:31 remaining.

Rolfe knocked down a three-pointer at the 1:45 mark to spark a 7-0 run by the Trojans to tie the score at 68 with 29.4 seconds on the clock.

A layup by Clark with 1.8 seconds remaining gave MT the 70-68 lead.  UALR attempted a last second shot that didn’t fall with the Blue Raiders winning the championship title.