Southwestern Athletic Conference

Bitter rivals clash Saturday when Prairie View A&M takes on Texas Southern in a SWAC Digital Network double-header in Houston, Texas.  The women are set to start at 5:25 p.m. and the men will follow shortly after.

The game itself is big enough, but the notion that Saturday’s battle is a rematch of the 2014 SWAC Tournament Championship game for both men and women heightens the intensity.

The women’s game should once again keep viewers entertained.   Prairie View enters the contest after having its five game winning streak snapped by Alabama State.  PVAMU (9-12, 6-3) however nipped TSU (11-9, 8-1) 63-61 the second conference game of the season last month.  Jeanette Jackson leads the Southwestern Athletic Conference in scoring (17.7) and is first on the team with 3.8 assists per game.  She has scored 20 plus points 11 times this season. 

Texas Southern sits at the top of the conference and is riding a six game winning streak.  The only blemish on its conference record is the one loss suffered at the hands of Prairie View.  In fact, the Tigers have dropped the last two meetings including last season’s SWAC Championship.  Alexus Johnson (12.6) and Brianna Sidney (11.9) are ranked sixth and seventh in the league in scoring respectively.

If part two of Saturday’s double-header with the men is anything similar to previous matchups, you can expect another nail biter.  The last four meetings between the two schools have been determined by five points or less.  Prairie View (6-16, 4-5) has won four of its last six games but suffered a devastating defeat against Alabama State on a last second put back Monday night.  Senior guard Montrael Scott sets the tone for the Panthers averaging 15.7 ppg which is fourth best in the conference and leads the team.  He eclipsed 1,000 career points last month. 

With the absence of Deverell Biggs and Chris Thomas, Texas Southern guard Madarious Gibbs has put the entire team on his back.  The Newnan, Georgia native leads the team in points (13.5) and assists (4.1) per contest.  Last week Gibbs played the entire game.  He scored 24 points, grabbed six rebounds and contributed five assists. Monday, versus Alabama A&M, he notched a double-double with 17 points and 10 assists.