LAFAYETTE, La. (UALR Athletics) - The UALR women's basketball team used a 12-0 run to start the game and a 18-3 run in the second half to win the team's second-straight contest 55-41 Wednesday at Earl K. Long Gym. The Trojans improve to 13-11 overall and 8-3 in Sun Belt Conference action and move into the first place in the west division with a Denver loss.
Freshman Kiera Clark led the Trojan scoring that had seven players scoring for the night. Freshman Taylor Gault and junior Janette Merriex each added nine points and four three-pointers between them.
Sophomore Taylor Ford led the team in rebounds with nine and assists with three.
Despite Louisiana-Lafayette receiving the tip, UALR opened the first half on a 12-0 run including seven points from Gault and forced four Ragin' Cajun turnovers. UL scored the team's first field goal at the 11:49 mark on a jumper by Michelle Brunker.
Both teams exchanged points, before the Ragin' Cajuns scored back-to-back three-pointers to cut the Trojan lead to 16-10 with 8:56 until the half.
After baskets on each goal, back-to-back jumpers by Ford sparked an 8-0 run by UALR to regain a 26-12 lead with 5:20 on the clock.
In the remaining 4:51, UL outscored the Trojans 6-2 including four points from Krystal Motley to bring UALR's half-time lead to 28-18.
UL opened the first five minutes of the second half outscoring UALR 8-5 including forcing two UALR turnovers to cut the Trojans led to 33-27. Both teams exchanged baskets, before a three-pointer by Motley cut the UALR advantage to five with 12:10 on the clock.
A jumper by Ford at the 11:39 mark sparked an 18-3 run including five-straight points by Britteni Williams to gain the Trojans largest lead of 55-35.
With 3:04 remaining, the Ragin' Cajuns scored the team's next field goal on a three-pointer and knocked down four more to cut the UALR lead to 55-41.
In the remaining two minutes, both teams remained scoreless as the Trojans won the team's second-straight contest.
UALR continues conference action at Middle Tennessee on Sunday. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. and be seen on the Sun Belt Network.