LORMAN, Miss. – Four Lady Braves scored in double figures, led by senior guard Alexus Freeman's career-high 25 points, as the Alcorn State University women's basketball program defeated LeMoyne-Owen College 81-54 Wednesday at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
Freeman shot 9-21 (42.9 percent) from the field, 4-7 (57.1 percent) from beyond the arc, and made all three of her free throws. She added two rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Senior guard Tia Sanders followed with 20 points, senior forward Miracle Rushing recorded an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double, and junior guard Cloe Lane contributed 11 points.
The Lady Braves shot 29-70 (41.4 percent) from the floor, 10-23 (43.5 percent) from deep, and 13-14 (92.9 percent) from the line. Alcorn scored more points off turnovers (25-10), more second-chance points (19-4), and more fast-break points (10-6).
After the teams traded baskets to open the scoring, Hargrove connected from beyond the arc and Freeman added a pair of long balls as Alcorn led 11-4 at the 6:43 mark. The visitors closed the gap as Ty Broadwater converted a pair of free throws and Dana Gettis scored a layup to get within 13-10, but a pair of Sanders three-pointers gave the Lady Braves a 19-12 advantage with 2:37 remaining in the opening quarter. LOC made 3-of-4 from the line and added a layup, but junior guard Kristian Dewitt made the most of her trip to the charity stripe and Alcorn finished the quarter in control 23-17.
In the second quarter, Alcorn scored seven unanswered to help push its lead to double digits, 35-21 (:52). The Lady Magicians finally answered with a layup with 10 seconds remaining and the Lady Braves went into the locker room up 35-23.
The Lady Braves shot 13-31 (41.9 percent) from the field, including 6-14 (42.9 percent) from beyond the arc, and 3-4 (75.0 percent) from the line in the opening half.
Sanders capped off a 7-0 run in the third quarter with an old-fashioned three-point play that pushed Alcorn's lead to 52-30 (4:15). Gettis finally answered for OLC with a long ball from the left corner and Shantiera Miller added a layup. The Lady Braves pulled away again, this time with a 6-0 run, and the third quarter ended with the score 62-39.
LMO earned a number of trips to the charity stripe in the final period, but the guests only scored four buckets and could not get a perimeter shot to fall.
The Lady Magicians shot 19-56 (33.9 percent) from the floor, including 2-12 (16.7 percent) from the perimeter, and 18-28 (64.3 percent) from the charity stripe.
Alcorn returns to action this Friday as they host Blue Mountain College in a 5:30 p.m. game.
NOTES
- With the victory, Alcorn improves to 2-0 to start the season for the first time since the 1998-99 season when the Lady Braves defeated Philander Smith and Texas Southern.
- The 27-point margin of victory is Alcorn's largest since an 81-53 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Feb. 15, 2016.
- The Lady Magicians netted just six points in the second quarter. Last season, Alcorn held opponents to six points in a quarter three times.
- The Lady Braves are now 2-1 in home openers under head coach Courtney G. Pruitt. The team defeated Tougaloo 90-65 on Nov. 12, 2015 and fell to Central Arkansas 71-57 on Nov. 17 in last season's home opener.
- Rushing's double-double is the third of her career and second this season. She scored 12 points and pulled down 14 rebounds in the season-opener at Southeastern Louisiana.
- Rushing also set career highs in assists (four) and steals (four).
- Freshman forward Jamaysha Bernard set career highs in points scored (four) and minutes played (19).
Quoting head coach Courtney Pruitt
On having the 1-2 punch of Freeman and Sanders
"Last year, Alexus was new to the conference. It was her first time playing Division I basketball, so she was just seeing what it was about and getting her feet wet. Her talent level is second to none, so she's going to shine. But having both of them together, they've been working hard over the summer and during the preseason in the gym, making sure to get shots up, and it's been showing. We've been on them about if you're going to take that many shots in a game, you have to be able to make them. They've been making good on their promises and we're very proud of the work ethic that they've been putting forth."
On Sanders' production in the first two games
"We knew when we got her from Northwest Florida last year what she was capable of. She's really focused this year on shooting the ball and really being a scorer for our team and helping Alexus out. So we can't say enough about her. I'm proud of the way she's been getting in the gym and she's really been committed to wanting to win a SWAC championship. We've talked about our focus all season long and where we want to be and the seniors have bought in."
On playing LeMoyne-Owen and challenges they presented
"Their athleticism. Number 21 and number 20 [Tenesha Wright and Gettis] are awesome. They can really score the ball, both had 17 points tonight. We didn't really have an answer for that. They're just offensive players that put me in the mind of Joyce Kennerson at Texas Southern and Shakyla Hill from Grambling. So we wanted to make sure early on that we're seeing things that we're going to see in January and February. That's what we're trying to prepare for. We want to sit down and play defense first, be a defensive-minded team so that when this time comes around again, we can be on the winning side of it. We're playing athletic teams that are good in transition and that can score even with contact. I really wasn't pleased with our defensive effort against the two, but it's a learning experience. We're young, we have a lot of new faces, so it will come along."
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