UALR women wake up in second half to beat FIU for ninth consecutive victory

   MIAMI -- An ugly first half blossomed into a beautiful finish for the UALR women, who rallied for a 54-45 victory over Florida International at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
   Janette Merriex led UALR with 17 points, but it was a tale of two halves for the Trojans. UALR fell behind 18-13 at halftime and still trailed 33-28 midway through the second half. But UALR clamped down defensively and went on an 18-1 run to seize control of the game.
   UALR shot 18 percent in the first half and 65 percent in the second half.
   It was the Trojans ninth-consecutive victory and improves UALR to 6-0 in Sun Belt play. UALR has also won 23-consecutive Sun Belt Conference games and 15-consecutive games played in January.
   Merriex made 4 of 7 three-pointers in the game.
   Chastity Reed was held to 12 points on 6 of 20 field-goal shooting. She also picked up her fourth technical foul of the season.
   Asriel Rolfe and Marian Kursh each finished with nine points, all of which came in the second half.