Ervin racks first double-double Arkansas clips Eagles' wings

SAN ANTONIO – Senior post Lauren Ervin picked up her first double-double of the season as the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks defeated Georgia Southern, 77-51, on the first day of the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic.

Ervin led all scorers with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Arkansas (5-0) plays at 2 p.m. at the Convocation Center against University of New Orleans for the final day of the tournament. Georgia Southern drops to 2-3 and plays UTSA tomorrow.

Arkansas led by as many as 26 to dominate the contest, shooting 45% from the field in a game the Lady’Backs never trailed.

“We stepped it up tonight and shot the ball well from the outside and got the ball down low,” UA head coach Tom Collen said. “I’m pretty pleased with this game.”

Six different Lady’Backs hit three-pointers led by Charity Ford’s three. Ford finished with 13 points. Arkansas shot 9-of-21 as a team for 42.9% from behind the arc.

“That’s a good percentage for threes, but more important that we had six different players hitting threes,” Collen said.

Arkansas had three in double digits with Ayana Brereton’s 13 points and a career-tying eight rebounds rounded out Arkansas’ double-digit scorers.

Arkansas roared out to a 12-0 start holding the Eagles scoreless for almost six minutes. The Lady’Backs allowed only 23.1% from the field in the first half, leading by as many as 21 before settling in at halftime ahead 37-21.

Ervin almost went a point-per-minute in the first half, scoring 11 points in her 13 minutes.

“That’s important for us tomorrow, but it’s also good that we saw some quality minutes for our players on the bench,” Collen said. “We’re going to need those players later in the year, and the more time we get them in games now, the more they will relax and become comfortable on the court.”

As a result, the Lady’Backs rested their starters early and had no single player played.with more than 25 minutes. Arkansas had scoring from 10 of the 11 players on the roster with sophomore Kendra Roberts picking up a career high five points.

For Georgia Southern, Ashley Melsona nd Elise Whitney each had 12 points and Carolyn Whitney added 11.