Arkansas State women’s basketball (8-7, 4-1 SBC) trailed with less than three minutes to go at ULM (6-10, 2-3 SBC), but the resilient Red Wolves rallied to secure a 75-70 victory on Saturday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
Zyion Shannon led all scorers with 24 and Bella Weary netted a career high 15 points while Kyanna Morgan also reached double digits at 10. Wynter Rogers was active on the boards, falling two short of a career high with 12 rebounds.
As a team, A-State shot 22-for-67 (32.8 percent) from the floor, 14-for-34 (41.2 percent) from deep, and 17-for-23 (73.9 percent) from the charity stripe. The 14 triples tie for the fifth most in school history, and are the second most in a game this season.
The Red Wolves found themselves in an 11-2 hole that featured one layup in the first 3:29 of action. A three-pointer from Morgan sparked a 9-0 run that erased the deficit, resulting in both sides exchanging shots until a buzzer-beating triple from Weary moved the Scarlet and Black ahead 20-18.
A defensive battle highlighted the first five minutes of the second, with both sides combining for 10 points over that span. ULM broke the stalemate with six consecutive free throws and opened a 33-26 advantage, but the Red Wolves fought back, making it a three-point ballgame with 0:30 left to play.
Two free throws for the Warhawks made the score 38-33 going into halftime. The charity stripe was active in the quarter, with A-State shooting 5-of-8 from the line compared to 13-of-14 for ULM.A-State shot 10-for-35 (28.6 percent) from the floor and 7-for-19 (36.8 percent) from beyond the arc in the first half.
Weary jumpstarted the Red Wolves’ offense in the second half, scoring five points in the first 1:30 and cutting the deficit to two points. The Warhawks responded with 14 of the next 20 to claim a 54-44 advantage at the 2:50 mark, but a three from Shannon complimented by two free throws from Crislyn Rose brought the deficit back to single digits.
Weary ended the quarter with another trey, the Red Wolves’ 11th of the contest, to go into the fourth trailing 55-52.Both sides exchanged blows throughout the final period, with A-State managing to stay within five points. Behind 68-64, Shannon drained back-to-back threes to claim the first lead of the contest with 2:01 to go.
Anna Griffin upped the advantage to four with a pair of free throws, but a quick layup for ULM followed by a missed free throw gave the Warhawks a chance to tie the game with nine seconds remaining. The ensuing three-point attempt fell short, allowing Rogers to secure the rebound before being fouled.
Rogers converted both free throws, clinching the Scarlet and Black’s first four-game winning streak in conference play since sweeping Texas State and ULM in 2020-21.
NEXT UP
A-State hosts Louisiana on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 7:00 p.m. inside First National Bank Arena. Listeners can find the game on 95.3/96.9 The Ticket Radio Network while viewers can watch on ESPN+.
