HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Down 34-25 at the half, the Alcorn State University women's basketball program fought back to within a point late in the final quarter but came up short to Southern Miss 72-67 Friday at Reed Green Coliseum in the first day of the Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic.
Senior guard Tia Sanders finished with a team-high 24 points and senior forward Miracle Rushing posted a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double, her third of the season. Senior guard Alexus Freeman added 18 points with a season-high seven boards, five assists, and five steals. Junior guard Cloe Lane contributed nine points.
"We were in sort of a shooting slump but kept coaching the girls and telling them if they kept shooting that the ball would ball," said head coach Courtney G. Pruitt. "They bought into what we were saying and it happened for us. We shot 81 percent from the free-throw line, forced 22 turnovers, and were able to score 20 points off of those turnovers. It was a great effort for 40 minutes."
A Freeman jumper capped off a 7-0 run midway through the third, allowing Alcorn to take a 40-39 lead at the 3:49 mark. After a couple of ties at 42-42 and 44-44, the hosts put up a jumper and a layup to head into the final 10 minutes with a narrow 48-44 lead.
The Lady Braves were able to pull to within 56-54 as Sanders knocked down a long ball with 5:21 left in the game. The teams then traded points as the Lady Eagles converted a pair of freebies and Freeman nailed a jumper. Several minutes later, Sanders made another three-pointer to cut USM's lead to 60-59 (2:21). That would be the closest Alcorn would get, however, as the Lady Eagles scored a basket and the Lady Braves resorted to sending the hosts to the line. USM shot 10-10 from the charity stripe over the final 1:28 to secure the victory.
Alcorn shot 23-70 (32.9 percent) from the field, including 8-23 (34.8 percent) from beyond the arc, and 13-16 (81.3 percent) from the charity stripe. The team scored more points off turnovers (20-17) and outscored USM's bench 11-6.
The Lady Braves conclude the Classic tomorrow as they face Stephen F. Austin in a 2 p.m. contest Saturday at Reed Green Coliseum.
NOTES
- Southern Miss improves to 6-3 in the all-time series.
- Four Lady Braves were perfect at the line. Sanders, junior guard Kristian Dewitt, and Lane were all 2-2, while Freeman made her lone charity shot.
- Rushing shot 6-9 (66.7 percent) from the line to tie her season mark in free throws made.
- Sanders shot 8-12 (66.7 percent) from the floor and 6-8 (75.0 percent) from long-range. The six three-pointers mark a career high.
- Sophomore guard Jada Hargrove tied her season high with 34 minutes played.
- Sanders and Freeman scored 23 of Alcorn's 25 first-half points.
- Alcorn is 1-1 this season against Southland Conference opponents entering Saturday's game with SFA.
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