HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Alcorn State University women's basketball program was seconds away from a victory, but Stephen F. Austin tied the game with a late three and outscored the Lady Braves 13-9 in overtime to steal the victory Saturday at Reed Green Coliseum.
Both teams posted 22 points in the third quarter and SFA took a narrow 52-50 advantage into the final 10 minutes. Senior guard Alexus Freeman gave the Lady Braves the lead as she started off the final period with a three ball, but the Ladyjacks (4-1) responded with a 7-0 run. Alcorn chipped away at the lead and tied the game at 63-63 on a Tia Sanders jumper (2:47 remaining). After SFA made a freebie and Freeman scored a basket, the teams traded three-pointers. Freeman went to the line with seven seconds left on the clock and converted both of her shots to make it a 70-67 Alcorn lead. The Ladyjacks refused to go down, though, and Stevi Parker drained a three ball from the left corner to force overtime.
In extra time, the score was knotted at 75-75 when a 6-1 swing by the Ladyjacks created some separation. Sanders connected from beyond the arc to pull the Lady Braves to within two with nine seconds left, but Parker got to the charity stripe and made both of her shots for the final score.
"Size-wise we matched up well," said head coach Courtney G. Pruitt. "We just couldn't hit our free throws. We faced a ton of adversity with foul trouble and the officials' favorable 45 free throws for our opponents. Nonetheless, we persevered and kept fighting. We just fell short in the extra quarter."
Alcorn was led by Sanders and Freeman with 25 and 24 points, respectively. Sanders shot 10-16 (62.5 percent) from the floor, including 5-6 (83.3 percent) from beyond the arc, and added six rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Freeman went 7-22 (31.8 percent) from the field, 2-7 (28.6 percent) from long-range, and 8-14 (57.1 percent) at the free-throw line. She finished with five boards, a season-high eight assists, and five steals.
Also in double figures were junior guard Cloe Lane with 14 points and sophomore guard Jada Hargrove with 12 points. Lane grabbed six rebounds with an assist and a steal. Hargrove pulled down four boards with a pair of assists and a career-high four steals.
"I felt as if Cloe, Kristian Dewitt, and Danasia Fennie did an excellent job off the bench and stepped up when we needed big plays," added Pruitt. "Miracle Rushing also got into early foul trouble. It really hurt us without her in the game because if she doesn't grab every rebound, she contends for it."
Freshman forward Jamaysha Bernard and Sanders opened the scoring with back-to-back buckets. After Taylor Jackson drained a deep ball and Kennedy Harris shot 1-2 at the line to cut the lead to 7-6, Alcorn scored six unanswered, highlighted by a Sanders three-pointer. After the teams traded points, the Lady Braves used a 5-0 run to go up 20-14 at the end of the first.
The Ladyjacks came out quick in the second quarter, netting eight straight points to take control of the game. Alcorn finally answered with a Lane layup that knotted the score at 22-22 with 4:50 to play in the opening half. After another 8-0 run by SFA, the Lady Braves responded with six straight in the final minute to head into the locker room trailing 30-28.
Alcorn shot 30-70 (42.9 percent) from the field, 8-19 (42.1 percent) from deep, and 11-26 (42.3 percent) at the free-throw line. The Lady Braves scored more points off turnovers (32-18) and more fast-break points (12-8). The game featured seven ties and 11 lead changes.
The Lady Braves are back at the Davey L. Whitney Complex this Thursday as they host Tougaloo College in a 5:30 p.m. game.
NOTES
- With the loss, Alcorn goes 1-2 versus the Southland Conference this season. The Lady Braves picked up their lone victory in the season opener at Southeastern Louisiana.
- Sanders was named to the All-Tournament Team. In Alcorn's two games at the Lady Eagles Thanksgiving Classic, she totaled 49 points, eight rebounds, an assist, and a pair of steals.
- For the first time in program history, the Lady Braves have played multiple non-conference overtime games in the same season.
- Alcorn scored 23 more points than SFA opponents had been averaging coming into the Classic (56.0 ppg).
- Freeman's eight assists tie her career mark. She also posted eight assists against Mississippi Valley State on Jan. 14 last season.
- Hargrove and Lane set season highs with 39 and 32 minutes played, respectively.
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