Lady Red Wolves sprint past Champion Christian

Non- Conference finale sets A- State up for success in SBC action

A-State Media Relations JONESBORO — Four players scored in double figures while Arkansas State forced a season-high 28 turnovers en route to a dominant 88-38 victory on Friday night at First National Bank Arena.

A-State (4-1) was stout offensively and defensively, shooting 47.3 percent from the field (35-74) while holding the Tigers to just 26.0 percent (13-50) in the win to end non-conference play. The 50-point win is tied for A-State’s largest margin of victory since a 107-57 win over ULM on March 5, 2014.

“We needed to set the tone,” head coach Matt Daniel said. “Our effort was better tonight and we were pretty locked in. It was our last opportunity, so I couldn’t play our starters just six minutes. We needed to get reps. Usually, about 10 games in, you start to figure out rotations. We’re five games in. I’m happy to be 4-1 and more importantly than that, I’m happy to have been able to play five games. We’ve learned a lot and we’ll continue to learn a lot about ourselves as we get into conference play.”

Trinitee Jackson and Mya Love led A-State with a game-high 13 points, with Jackson’s surpassing her previous career best. The Hopkinsville, Ky., native also grabbed seven boards

Continued on Page 15 LADY RED WOLVES (cont.)

on the night. Jireh Washington added 12 points on 4-7 shooting (2-3 from three-point range) to go along with five steals, giving her five or more steals in three of the last four contests.

Jada Stinson scored three points, but was a big factor in other aspects for the Scarlet and Black, grabbing a career-high eight rebounds and handing out six assists to no turnovers.

Peyton Martin tallied 10 points and five rebounds.

As a team, A-State outrebounded

scoring 35 points off of 28 takeaways and outscoring the Tigers 50-16 in the paint.

A-State opened up with another strong start, forcing Champion to call a timeout less than three minutes into the game with an 11-0 run.

The Red Wolves’ lead ballooned to 16-0 on a trey by Washington before the Tigers got on the board with a jumper by Tamara Manning. After a T’Kira Fuller layup made it 16-4, A-State went on a 12-0 run to end the opening quarter with a 28-4 lead.

The Tigers scored nine of the first 11 to open the second quarter to cut it to 30-13 before a 9-0 run stretched A-State’s lead back out to 39-13. The Red Wolves’ lead continued to grow, reaching as much as 29 with just over two minutes to go in the half. AState led 49-22 at halftime.

A-State’s lead continued to grow in the third quarter, as the Red Wolves outscored Champion Christian 21-5 and held the Tigers without a field goal. Love drilled a pair of threes in the frame to eclipse the double-digit mark for the first time this season and third time in her career.

The Red Wolves took a 50point lead on a three by Mattie Hatcher at the 6:48 while a layup by Kayla Williams gave them their largest lead of the night, up 86-35 with 2:08 remaining.

A-State allowed just one bucket to end the contest, ending non-conference play with a 50-point victory.

Destiny Gonzales led Champion Christian with 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

A-State has concluded its non-conference portion of the 2020-21 schedule and will be back in action on Friday, January 1, 2021, to open Sun Belt Conference play. The Red Wolves will begin the divisional-only schedule format hosting four straight, starting with a two-game set versus ULM.

Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m.

CT. The broadcast can be watched live on ESPN+ while the radio broadcast

• Arkansas State forced double-digit turnovers for the fifth consecutive game to open the season, 20 or more for the fourth game in a row.

• A-State swiped 16 steals, giving the Red Wolves 10 or more thefts in four straight games.

• Trinitee Jackson scored a career-high 13 points.

• Mya Love tallied doubledigit points for the third time in her career and the first time this season.

• Jireh Washington scored in double figures for the 14th time in the last 16 games.

For the latest on the AState women’s basketball program, follow @AStateWB on Twitter and @astatewbb on Instagram, while also liking the team’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/RedWolves WBB.