Game Notes
WICHITA, Kan. – The Alcorn State University women's basketball program makes its longest trip of the season this weekend as the Lady Braves compete in the Wichita State Shocker Winter Classic at Charles Koch Arena. The team meets Oral Roberts Friday at 4 p.m. and squares off with the hosts Saturday at 6 p.m.
Senior guard
Tia Sanders is averaging a team-high 21.3 points and has scored 20 or more points five times this season. Also averaging double figures are senior guard
Alexus Freeman with 16.1 points and junior guard
Cloe Lane with 10.0 points. Senior forward
Miracle Rushing has recorded four double-doubles this season and is netting 9.9 points with 9.9 rebounds per contest.
Rebounding and second-chance points have been big for Alcorn this season. The team is 4-0 when it wins the battle on the glass and is 3-1 when it scores more second-chance points. However, opponents have continued to get to the charity stripe, with nearly 30 percent of their points scored at the line.
"We've got to stop putting our opponents at the free-throw line and make them play basketball to beat us," said head coach
Courtney G. Pruitt. "It'll be a David and Goliath battle with our opponents' significant size advantage over us, but we're up for the challenge. I would like to see our ladies execute, shoot the ball well, continue to rebound, and play great post defense. Key areas to win will be second-chance points, rebounds, layups, and free throws."
The Lady Braves average 73.6 points with a +7.3 scoring margin and are shooting 196-489 (40.1 percent) from the field, 45-135 (33.3 percent) from deep, and 78-121 (64.5 percent) at the charity stripe. Alcorn adds 43.9 rebounds (+4.6), 14.7 assists, 11.4 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game. The team ranks fourth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense (21.6) and eighth in offensive rebounds per game (18.0).
Oral Roberts | Dec. 15 | 4 p.m. | Live Stats
A 76-66 loss at Missouri State on Sunday snapped a five-game winning streak for Oral Roberts (6-4). Maya Mayberry and Maria Martianez led the way with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Faith Ihim pulled down a team-high five rebounds.
Three Golden Eagles are averaging double-digit points, led by Ihim with 12.5. Following her are Martianez with 10.5 points and Mayberry with 10.4. Sarah Garvie has the hot hand from beyond the arc with 24 three-pointers (2.4 per game), while Mayberry follows with 13 (1.3 per game). Mayberry and Ihim lead ORU on the glass with 84 and 75 rebounds, respectively. On defense, Martianez, Garvey, and Jordan Gilbert each have 12 steals this season. Martianez also owns 10 blocks.
The team is averaging 65.5 points with a +4.7 scoring margin and is shooting 245-568 (43.1 percent) from the field, 52-168 (31.0 percent) from long-range, and 113-170 (66.5 percent) at the line. ORU averages 38.5 rebounds (+4.1), 13.2 assists, 7.5 steals, and 2.2 blocks per outing.
Friday is ORU's first game against a SWAC opponent since an 89-80 overtime loss to Grambling State on Dec. 15, 2011. The game marks just the second meeting between Alcorn and the Golden Eagles. ORU took the only game played between the two teams 77-59 on Feb. 28, 1997 in Tulsa, Okla.
Wichita State | Dec. 16 | 6 p.m. | Live Stats
Wichita State (3-8) is coming off a 72-63 home win over UMKC last Saturday. The Shockers had four players in double figures, led by Rangie Bessard's 19-point, 10-rebound double-double. Diamond Lockhart added 16 points, while Sabrina Lzada-Cabbage and Jeliah Preston each contributed 10 points.
Bessard is WSU's leading scorer and rebounder with 18.0 points and 7.4 boards per game. Lockhart is averaging 9.9 points and Angiee Tompkins 8.6. Preston is the deep threat with 13 threes (1.3 pg). Defensively, Bessard has nine blocks while four Shockers own double-digit steals.
The Shockers are averaging 65.2 points (-5.4) and are shooting 280-664 (42.2 percent) from the floor, including 42-154 (27.3 percent) from beyond the arc, and 115-145 (79.3 percent) from the free-throw line. The team grabs 36.0 rebounds (+1.0), 14.1 assists, 7.2 steals, and 2.5 blocks per contest.
Saturday's game is Wichita State's first against a SWAC opponent since a Dec. 18, 2015 win over Prairie View A&M, 64-36. Alcorn claimed the only meeting in the series 80-60 on Nov. 30, 1991.
NOTES
- The Lady Braves lead the SWAC in field goal percentage (40.1), three-point field goals made (6.4 pg), three-point field goal percentage defense (21.6), assists (14.7 apg), and defensive rebounds (25.9 drpg).
- Rushing sits atop the league standings in rebounding (9.9 rpg), offensive rebounding (4.4 orpg), and defensive rebounding (5.4 drpg). Nationally, she is 15th in offensive rebounds.
- Freeman leads the SWAC in assists (5.4 apg) and is tied for first in minutes played (36.1 mpg). She is eighth in the nation in steals per game (3.9 spg).
- Sanders's 21.3 points per game rank second in the SWAC and 17th in the nation. Her 48.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc is second in the league and 19th nationally.
- Alcorn closed out the month of November with a 76-64 win over Tougaloo College.
Tia Sanders scored 22 points and
Miracle Rushing recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
- The Lady Braves' 27 points in the third quarter tied its season high. The team also netted 27 in the third quarter of the Nov. 15 win over LeMoyne-Owen College.
- The Lady Braves did not surrender a three-pointer to Tougaloo as the Lady Bulldogs went 0-4 from long-range. The previous low by an opponent this season was against Blue Mountain College when the Lady Toppers shot 2-12.
- Alcorn wraps up its out-of-conference schedule with trips to Louisiana-Lafayette (Dec. 20) and Louisiana Tech (Dec. 29).
#FearTheBrave
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