LORMAN, Miss. – Junior
Alexus Freeman scored a game-high 20 points as the Alcorn State University women's basketball program scored 43 second-half points to take a 69-63 win over Southern Unversity Saturday afternoon at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
Senior
Tia Sanders joined Freeman in double figures with 11 points. Freeman's performance was rounded out by seven rebounds and a career-high six steals. This marked Freeman's fifth 15-5-5 performance this season.
The Lady Braves (6-14, 6-3 SWAC) held the SWAC's top offense scoreless for the first 2:18 of the contest. Alcorn, the No. 1 defense in the league, forced the Lady Jags (8-9, 6-3 SWAC) into four turnovers in the opening frame.
The first quarter featured four ties and four lead changes. The Lady Braves concluded the final 1:33 on a 7-2 run to take a slight 18-17 advantage into the second.
Freeman and fellow juniors
Miracle Rushing and
Tia Sanders each picked up their second foul, which limited their time on the court in the second quarter.
Southern took advantage of those three being in foul trouble by scoring the final eight points of the quarter and taking a 32-26 lead into the break.
Rushing came up with the ball during Alcorn's full-court pressure and found Freeman for an easy lay-in to spark an 8-0 run, putting the Lady Braves within four at 40-36.
The two sides traded four-point spurts before freshman
Aysha Kirkland notched a steal in the press and converted a layup. With the score at 44-42, Sanders got two great long-range looks that barely rimmed out.
Senior
Brianna Luton drained a trey to bring Alcorn back within one at 46-45. The Lady Jags scored two buckets to conclude the third, resulting in a 50-45 score after three.
Rushing started the scoring in the fourth but had to be helped off the floor after landing awkwardly. The score came to a 54-point tie when the Lady Braves ripped off seven straight ending in a Wells layup on a beautiful feed from senior
Tori Spann, giving Alcorn a 61-54 lead.
The Lady Braves turned to their facilitator, Freeman, to ice the game. The Navasota, Texas, native tallied seven of Alcorn's final eight points, sinking five of six from the charity stripe, to lift the Lady Braves to victory.
NOTES
- Alcorn held Southern to 0-of-12 from long range. This is the first time since Feb. 13, 2016 against Mississippi Valley that the Lady Braves have held an opponent to zero treys.
- The 20-point outing marked Freeman's second straight after her career-high 24 at Alabama A&M.
- Alcorn's high pressure defense forced the Lady Jags into 23 turnovers, marking the fifth time in SWAC play the Lady Braves forced 20-plus.
- This was Sanders' 15th and Freeman's 10th double-digit scoring performance.
- The two sides were dead even with 36 points in the paint. The Lady Braves held a 12-8 advantage in fast-break points.
- Senior Tori Spann tied a season high with nine points and added five boards.
- Rushing posted seven points and six rebounds before being helped off the court.
- Wells notched three blocks, making this her 15th game with multiple blocks.
#FearTheBrave
Listen to "Final Alcorn 69 Southern 63 Post Game Interview" on Spreaker.
