The #17 SAU Tech Lady Rockets continued to show why they were among the best in the nation. The Lady Rockets went on the road to take on the SouthArk Lady Stars in El Dorado last Thursday as the Lady Rockets completely dominated all areas of the game. SAU Tech came in with a clear vision to play a near-perfect as they defeated SouthArk with a dominating score of 107-32.
After a few practice shots to start the game, the Lady Rockets seemed like they would never miss a shot for the remainder of the game. SAU Tech was 0-3 in their shots to start, but they would make nine of its 11 shots in the first quarter. Jaida Minter and Yahmynne Andrews were the players leading the charge on the offensive end of the court for the Lady Rockets. The defense of the Lady Rockets dominated and contained the Lady Stars in their shot selection and turnovers. SAU Tech took a commanding 30-10 lead.
SAU Tech played a more dominant performance in the second quarter as the Lady Rockets dominated both sides of the court. The Lady Rockets shot 15-of-20 in field goals as they made all five of their three-point shot attempts. Nine players for the Lady Rockets found a way to contribute offensively as they took the pressure off the star playmakers in guard Sh'Diamond McKnight. The Lady Rockets forced the Lady Stars to turn the ball over 12 times in the second quarter as SouthArk only attempted seven field goal attempts. SAU Tech took a dominating lead of 64-18 going into halftime.
The Lady Rockets slowed down its pacing in the second half on the offensive end, but they were still able to account for a significant scoring performance. SAU Tech scored 19 points in the third quarter and only turned the ball over once in the entire first quarter. The Lady Rockets held the Lady Stars to five points in the third quarter, with three points coming from the free-throw line. SAU Tech took an 85-23 lead going into the final quarter.
Going into the final quarter, the Lady Rockets kept their foot on the gas pedal as they stay consistent on offense and defense. The Lady Rockets scored 22 points as they continued to pass the ball throughout the court and exploit the weaknesses of the Lady Stars in the final quarter. The Lady Rockets held the Lady Stars to nine points in the fourth quarter, the most SouthArk has scored since the first quarter.
The Lady Rockets had one of their most complete games of the season, especially in conference play. SAU Tech was 41-of-79 in field goals (51.9%), 15-of-31 (48.4%) from the three-point arc, and 10-of-14 from the free-throw line. The Lady Rockets held the Lady Stars to shoot 11-of-36 (30.6%) and 1-of-9 from the three-point arc. The biggest outlier of the game was the turnover margin as the Lady Rockets forced the Lady Stars to turn the ball over 40 times while turning over only four times.
Freshman guard Jaida Minter was the Lady Rockets' leading scorer with 22 points as she shot 8-of-11 in field goals and was 5-of-6 from the three-point arc. Sophomore guard Jaylia Reed had one of the biggest performances among the starters. Reed scored 20 points shooting 7-of-11 in field goals and 4-of-7 from the three-point arc while also accounting for three rebounds, seven assists, and five steals. Yahzmynne Andrews scored 15 points, Jada Burrell scored 15 points, and Sh'Diamond McKnight scored 11 points.