WBB: ALST vs. AAMU
SWAC.org
Alabama State 87, Alabama A&M 72
Box Score
HOUSTON, Texas – No. 1 seed Alabama State fended off the sharp shooting of No. 8 seed Alabama A&M to advance to the semifinals of the SWAC Women’s Basketball Tournament with a 87-72 win. With the victory, the Lady Hornets await the winner of the quarterfinal tilt between 4-seed Grambling State and 5-seed Prairie View A&M on Thursday at 6 p.m.
The upset-minded Lady Bulldogs were able to get within one possession of the defending tournament champions several times down the stretch, but Jasmine Peeples and Britney Wright continued to respond for Alabama State (17-11) in the late moments until Danielle Ewert iced things from the charity stripe.
Led by Ewert’s 13-point fourth quarter, the trio scored 19 of ALST’s final 20 points to stave off a potential upending by their in-state rival, who shot 59 percent from the floor – and made a school-tournament record 10 of their 14 three-point attempts – during the game but went scoreless over the final 2:15.
Alabama A&M (5-25) built a first-half advantage thanks knocking down a shade under 64 percent of their attempts from the floor and closing the half on a 6-0 run en route to a 38-36 lead.
The spark didn’t carry over for AAMU – who had advanced past day one for only the fourth time in school history – during the start of the second half, as the Lady Bulldogs committed eight turnovers and made just one field goal over the first six minutes of the third quarter. Meanwhile, Wright and Peeples kicked off a 16-4 run that pushed the top-seeded Lady Hornets to a double-digit advantage.
Janie Myles had a double-double for AAMU with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Sydney Spencer added 10. For ALST, Wright netted 25 points and nabbed six boards, while Peeples added a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.