Trailing 58-56 and looking to force overtime, Arkansas-Little Rock forward Mesi Triplett missed an uncontested layup with 3 seconds left as the Eastern Illinois women held on for a 59-56 victory Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.
UALR overcame a 12-point third-quarter deficit and tied the game twice in the final moments. But missed free throws and late turnovers proved to be costly for the Trojans, who shot 36.5% (19 of 52) from the field and 54.8% (17 of 31) from the free-throw line.
"(The play) worked perfect with what we tried to draw up, but like I told Mesi, that's one play out of many," UALR Coach Steve Wiedower said of the Trojans' final shot attempt.