Monroe hits 20, Lewis, 12, in win over UAPB

Southern senior guard Rolanda Monroe scored 20 points and added five rebounds and two steals to help the Jaguars come out of a two-game losing slump Saturday when they defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff 72-58 in the F.G. Clark Activity Center.
The win keeps Southern (12-9 overall, 9-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference) atop in the SWAC. But being atop the conference is not good enough for Southern head coach Sandy Pugh.
“Defensively we’re not where we need to be,” Pugh said. “I thought we had a great effort from the crew. Ro, Ciara, and Diedra, we were quicker as guards. (Fed, Indi), So we got people who can get things done inside and outside.”
Monroe beat screens and hit three of her six attempted 3-pointers in her 29 minutes of playing time. Jags sophomore center Fredrieka Lewis scored 12 and freshman guard Diedra Jackson added 10. The Jaguars held as much as a 22-point lead in the second half, but UAPB (6-15, 5-7 SWAC) came within nine points at halftime but shot a poor 25 percent, on 7-for-28 shooting, in the second half.
Southern opened in a full court press and led 12-2 with 15:48 left in the first half. However, the Lady Lions closed to within two points, at 20-18, with 9:28 remaining. Then Southern went on a 15-0 run, getting in a groove in which it scored jumpers and made free throws.
“Defense was tough,” said UAPB coach Danny Evans. “Our problems were we didn’t have our lead rebounder, (but) Arica Green played a good game for us tonight. She had to score more.”
Green, a freshman, scored 20 points for UAPB, while LaToya Thomas added nine.
The Lady Lions played without 6-foot forward Chekesha Johnson, who is ranked sixth in the SWAC with seven rebounds per game. Johnson did not make the trip for disciplinary reasons and her absence left UAPB with only eight active players and little to combat Southern’s size advantage in the paint.