Alcorn Game Notes | Listen
ITTA BENA, Miss. - The Alcorn State University women's basketball program looks to avenge its most recent loss to Grambling at Mississippi Valley State Saturday in a 2 p.m. contest at the R.W. Harrison Complex.
Alcorn (7-15, 7-4 SWAC) dropped a 67-63 decision to the Lady Tigers despite a 28-16 margin in points off turnovers.
The Lady Braves were fronted by junior Tia Sanders' game-high 18 points. Senior Brianna Luton added 14 points and junior Miracle Rushing contributed nine boards including five on the offensive end.
Sanders has scored 10-plus in 17 of 22 games this season. Junior Alexus Freeman (14.1), Sanders (12.7) and Luton (10.5) are all averaging double digits in league play.
Luton ranks atop the league in three-point field goal percentage (42.6) and second in threes made per game (2.1).
Alcorn sits atop the SWAC in threes made per game (4.8) and ranks second in steals per game (9.8) and turnover margin (+3.1).
Sanders tallied a career-high 19 points during the last meeting between the two sides, which ended in a 69-49 Lady Braves win. Freeman (15) and Rushing (11) also added double figures.
MVSU (9-13, 6-5 SWAC) has reigned victorious in four of its last six contests including a 75-74 upset in overtime over top-seeded Texas Southern.
Devilettes forward Ashley Beals is the only female student-athlete in the SWAC who averages a double-double, chipping in 17.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per contest. In fact, the preseason All-SWAC second teamer leads the league in all rebounding categories.
MVSU also has an All-SWAC first team performer in Christina Reed, but she has not played since the Jan. 14 matchup against the Lady Braves.
NOTES
• Senior Henrietta Wells' 3.0 blocks per game ranks atop the SWAC and 11th in Division I. She has recorded at least one block in all but one contest and multiple blocks in 16 including seven of the last eight.
• The number 70 has a significant impact on Alcorn's W-L record. The Lady Braves are 11-1 in league play when scoring 70-plus points and 1-6 when allowing 70-plus dating back to last season.
• The Lady Braves are 3-0 this season in league play following a loss.
• The Lady Braves have lost depth due to injuries to Dejah Joshua, Bridgejae Patterson and Brianna Tolliver, who were all considered key players on this year's squad. Joshua and Patterson each participated in one contest this season while Alcorn has been without Tolliver, a double-digit scorer in two of the first five games, for 17 straight games.
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