No. 1 Arkansas State and No. 8 Louisiana-Lafayette
Arkansas State is 12-4 in conference play, with one of their losses coming to Georgia State. Arkansas State ranks No. 2 in the Sun Belt in field goal percentage, making more than 43 percent of their shots. They are led by Andrea Gamble, who scores an average
of 18 points per game and shoots just under 50 percent on the season. Arkansas State struggles somewhat defensively, giving up the highest opponent field goal percentage in the conference. This is the team to beat in the women’s bracket, but the Red Wolves
must watch out for offensive powerhouses in the bracket that have killed them before, such as Troy or Louisiana-Lafayette. The Ragin’ Cajuns have had a mediocre season, currently at 13-13 overall, 6-9 in the Sun Belt. After an eight- game losing streak stretching from January to February, Louisiana-Lafayette is finding some late momentum, winning three-consecutive including over No. 1 Arkansas State.
No. 2 WKU and No. 7 Louisiana-Monroe
Western Kentucky has two All- American candidates with Alexis Govan and Chastity Gooch, who are both averaging more than 18 points per game. The Hilltoppers have the best field goal percentage defense in the conference, holding opponents to under 40 percent. This has helped them maintain the best-scoring margin average this season, just under double- figures. That should help them get passed their first round against No. 8 Louisiana-Monroe, who averages a little more than 70 points per game.
No. 5 Georgia State and No. 4 Texas State
Georgia State went on a five- game winning streak in January, taking down conference No. 1 Arkansas State and moving up to No. 2 to the conference. The Panthers had a chance to tie for first in the conference with a win over Texas-Arlington but fell to the last place team, snapping the streak. Kendra Long leads the teams in points per game (13.4) and is seventh in the conference. The Panthers are ninth in scoring defense, allowing 73.7 points per game despite Brittany Logan grabbing the third most rebounds in the conference. Inconsistency has been a struggle for the Panthers all season, inferior opponents stooping down to their levels in games. The Panthers will have to push out all distractions if they hope to make the long-run in the tournament. They’ll likely start with No. 4 Texas State who they have won and lost to this season. Texas State is on a downward slope, losing three of its last five games.
No. 6 Troy and No. 3 UALR
The Troy Trojans have the highest scoring offense in the conference, averaging 80.2 per game. Joanna Harden is averaging 25.4 points per game, the fourth best in the country, and has 1,143 career points. Harden is a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award that goes to the best guard in Division-I women’s basketball. Troy is projected to face the best- scoring defense in the conference of Arkansas-Little Rock in the first round, as of Sunday. Arkansas- Little Rock has held teams from scoring less than 60 points on average. Hannah Fohne holds the school’s record for blocks with 107 in her career.
