Garland, TX--The No. 7 seeded Alcorn State Lady Braves pulled off an early upset in the 2012 Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Wednesday, by beating the No. 2 seeded Southern Lady Jaguars 54-44 at the Special Events Center.
Alcorn State used a stifling second half defensive effort to pull out the win. In the first half of the game, Southern shot 42.9 percent from the field (12-28). In the second half, the Lady Jags connected at a 12.5 percent rate (3-24). Southern could not make a basket for a 12 minute period in the second half.
Three Lady Braves scored in double figures.
Carolinsia Crumbly led all scorers with 15 points on 5-11 shooting from the floor. She also pulled down five rebounds.
Kiara Ruffin followed with 12 points and five rebounds. She was a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line.
Renelle Richmond added 10 points and four rebounds.
Isis Smith led the team with six rebounds.
Lechell Rush was the only double-digit scorer for Southern, as she finished with 11 points on 3-8 shooting. Adrian Sanders scored nine points on 3-15 shooting. Jamie Floyd pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with a three point effort.
Alcorn State trailed 30-22 at halftime. The Lady Braves scored their last field goal of the game at the 8:54 mark in the second half, but made 13 of 14 free throw attempts down the stretch to seal the game.
The Lady Braves will advance to the semi-finals on Friday and will take on the winner of Thursday's Alabama A&M/Grambling State game. Tip-off for Friday's game is set for 12 pm.
