For the first time in program history, the Arkansas State Red Wolves women’s basketball team qualified for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament after defeating the James Madison Dukes 86-79 in an overtime thriller.

Redshirt junior guard Wynter Rogers put the Red Wolves on the board first after winning jump ball but the Dukes soon responded with a three. The rest of the first quarter was neck and neck with Arkansas State and James Madison going into the second quarter tied 23-23. 

The Red Wolves were soon dominated during the second quarter as the Dukes scored 17 unanswered points before the Red Wolves could finally score with three minutes remaining in the second quarter. A-State scored nine points within the final minutes of the second quarter, including a last-second three from forward Anna Griffin heading into halftime with JMU leading 32-40.  

It was a relatively slow quarter for the Dukes, with JMU only leading 47-44 against the Red Wolves halfway through the quarter and their primary source of points being free throws or layups while A-State only scored threes. However, the quarter ended 57-51 with JMU keeping their lead.

After missing plenty of threes in the second quarter, the Red Wolves entered the third with a three-pointer by Griffin and then one more from point guard Crislyn Rose. Over the fourth quarter, the Red Wolves slowly but surely chipped away at the Dukes’ lead. 

In the fourth quarter, the Red Wolves scored first, cutting the point deficit to four before they traded field goals with the Dukes for a while. However, with 6:19 to go in the fourth, the Red Wolves scored back-to-back-to-back threes from guard Mimi McCollister and Crislyn Rose. This gave A-State the lead at 66-63. 

Just like the first quarter though, JMU tied it up and points were traded back and forth before the clock hit zero at 70-70, sending the championship game into overtime.

The Red Wolves won the jump ball to start the five minutes of overtime but neither team scored until Wynter Rogers made a layup with 3:49 to go. JMU scored a single free throw point then Crislyn Rose scored a layup then a three with three minutes to go. 

Free throws and field goals were exchanged by both teams, JMU scored a jumper with a second to go, but the Red Wolves were far enough ahead that it didn’t matter. 

The confetti rained down at the buzzer as the Arkansas State Red Wolves won 86-79.

Fouls were the Red Wolves’ enemy throughout the entire game, racking up 16 personal fouls which gave the Dukes 13 of their points.

As a team, the Red Wolves were 45.3% on their field goals, 35.3% on their threes and 76.2% on their free throws.

Rose led the Red Wolves in points, scoring 23 in total. She was 10-16 for field goals and 3-6 in threes. Junior guard Zyion Shannon recorded the most assists with four. Griffin scored the most threes for the team, draining four of her eight while Mimi McCollister made the most free throws, scoring six of her eight tries. 

Forward Nissa Sam-Grant led in rebounds with eight total, four offensive and four defensive. She also led the team in blocks with a total of three. Guard Kennedie Montue recorded three steals.

With their win over JMU, Arkansas State moves on to play in the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. The brackets for the tournament will be released at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 16. Currently, the Red Wolves are projected as a 14-seed.

Categories: Sports