Road Teams Rule the Night on SWAC Thursday
SWAC.org
In all four SWAC head-to-head match-ups on Thursday night, the visiting teams came out victorious. The only home team to win was Mississippi Valley who destroyed Rust College in a non-conference game.
Southern (3-6, 2-0) 49, Texas Southern (1-11, 0-2) 39
HOUSTON - It wasn't pretty, but Southern outlasted Texas Southern to remain unbeaten in conference play. Neither team was able to shoot 30 percent for the game as Southern was 17-of-59 (.288) and Texas Southern 13-of-57 (.228) from the field. TSU managed only 13 first half points and trailed 25-13 at halftime after shooting only 17.9 percent (5-of-28) from the field. Despite their offensive woes, TSU rallied to come within six at 29-23 in the second half. However, the hill was to hard to climb as Southern crushed the rally with a 9-0 run to take their largest lead of the game at 38-23 with 8:47 left. Jasmine Jefferson had 11 points to lead Southern. Kendra Coleman added 10 points, while Jamie Floyd snatched 12 rebounds for the Lady Jags. Morgan Simmons scored a double-double to lead Texas Southern with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Alabama State (4-7, 1-1) 52, Jackson State (4-7, 1-1) 49
JACKSON - The Lady Hornets came from behind to sting Jackson State on the road. ASU trailed 24-18 at halftime, but rallied to take the lead in the second half when Danielle Gazaway hit a 3-pointer to give ASU a 42-41 with 5:28 left. The Lady Hornets held the lead until the clock ticked under a minute. JSU tied the game at 47-all on a layup by Tiffany Kellum with 59 seconds left. After ASU reclaimed the lead on a pair of freethrows with 31 seconds remaining, JSU missed on an opportunity to tie the game with 21 seconds left. Two more freethrows by Tamara Washington put the game on ice for the Lady Hornets. Kierra Paige paced ASU with 16 points, while Brittney Howard pulled down 12 rebounds. Kellum led JSU with 21 points and nine rebounds. Kiana McCarty added 11 points for the Lady Tigers.
Alabama A&M (6-6, 1-1) 76, Grambling State (5-7, 1-1) 64
GRAMBLING - Alabama A&M rebounded from their SWAC season opening loss on Tuesday with a strong second half performance and a win over Grambling. Jasmine Sanders had 17 points and eight rebounds. Whiquitta Tobar added 15 points and eight rebounds and Shundray Davis contributed 15 points. Savannah Carter finished with 12 points to lead Grambling, while Tonieshwa Mack and Dayla Threatt popped for 11 apiece. The score was knotted at 32-32 after the first 20 minutes. The Lady Bulldogs stormed out of the lockerroom in the second half, scoring the first 14 points to take control of the game at 46-32 with 14:30 remaining. The Lady Tigers never recovered, not coming closer than eight points the rest of the game.
Alcorn State (4-8, 2-0) 59, Prairie View (3-10, 0-2) 54
PRAIRIE VIEW - Kiara Ruffin scored 19 points and Renelle Richmond added 18 ast Alcorn State held off Prairie View. Richmond also grabbed nine rebounds, while Ruffin had eight assists. The loss overshadowed a huge game for Latia Williams who led PVAM with 18 points and 17 rebounds. Kiara Etienne dropped in 14 points for the Lady Panthers. Alcorn State led 23-18 at halftime. The Lady Braves led by as much as 10 points in the second half, but PVAM closed to within a basket at 53-51 with 36 seconds left. But, that was the closest they would get the rest of the way.
Mississippi Valley State (4-8, 1-0) 79, Rust 44
ITTA BENA - For the second straight time this week, Mississippi Valley State rolled to a victory, this time blowing the doors off of Rust College. It marked the second straight blowout win for the Devilettes who defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff 92-50 on Tuesday, have outscored its last two opponents by a combined 77 points. MVSU Senior guard Ka'Neisha Smith scored her 1,000th career point. She finished with nine points and five steals in just 15 minutes on the court. All 13 MVSU players saw action, 10 notching a spot on the scoreboard. Freshman A'Shanti Weathers scored a career-high 13 points to lead the Devilettes. Davina Jefferson added 11. MVSU shot 41 percent from the field and hit 7-of-25 three-pointers.
Saturday's SWAC Women's Schedule
Jackson State at Alcorn State / 2:00 p.m.
Grambling at Southern / 2:00 p.m.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Alabama A&M / 3:00 p.m.
Mississippi Valley State at Alabama State / 3:00 p.m.
Prairie View A&M at Texas Southern / 4:30 p.m.