LORMAN, Miss. – The Alcorn State University women's basketball program came back from a 10-point deficit to secure a 57-52 win over Alabama A&M Saturday afternoon at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
Senior forward Miracle Rushing posted a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double and senior guard Alexus Freeman scored a game-high 16 points with five assists to lead Alcorn. Junior guard De'Asia Brown was close to double figures with nine points.
The Lady Braves (8-10, 4-3 SWAC) went 22-54 (40.7 percent) from the field, including 5-15 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc, and 8-11 (72.7 percent) at the free-throw line.
Alabama A&M opened the game with nine unanswered, highlighted by a Natalie Collins three-pointer. Sophomore guard Jada Hargrove ended the run and scored Alcorn's first basket at the 4:24 mark. Redshirt-sophomore guard Brianna Tolliver then earned a trip to the line, where she went 1-for-2. After an Ashlyn Dotson layup, Alcorn used a 6-0 run to pull to within 11-9 with :48 left. The visitors then brought the first quarter to a close with a pair of 2-for-2 efforts at the line.
Collins drained another long-range shot to start the second quarter. Down 18-9, freshman forward Jamaysha Bernard kicked off a 6-1 swing with a make from the left side. The Lady Bulldogs (8-9, 3-3 SWAC) responded with six straight to go ahead 25-15 with 5:37 on the clock. Brown earned an old-fashioned three-point play and Freeman went to the line out of the 4:39 media timeout, where she missed her first shot but made the second. Back-to-back AAMU layups pushed the lead back to 10, but Alcorn answered with another 6-0 run. Freeman followed a Dotson bucket with a three from the top of the key and the teams went to the locker rooms with the guests in control, 31-28.
Alcorn came out quick in the third quarter, scoring eight straight points to grab its first lead of the game. Tierra Dark ended the drought with a layup, igniting a 6-0 run as AAMU retook the lead, 37-36 with 2:40 on the clock. The teams then traded baskets and the Lady Bulldogs took a 41-38 advantage into the final 10 minutes of play.
In the fourth, AAMU went back up by 10 with seven unanswered. Freeman ended the run with a three-pointer from the right side, then Rushing scored a basket down low as the Lady Braves trailed 48-43 at the 4:42 media timeout. Lane made it eight straight with a long ball to make it a two-point game. After the teams traded scores, Lane kicked it out to Sanders, who hit the three to give Alcorn the lead 51-50 with 2:25 left in the game. Rushing followed with a layup, but Dark converted both of her free-throws. Freeman then sank another three from the right side to force an AAMU timeout with :35 remaining. After the Lady Bulldogs missed a jumper, AAMU sent Sanders to the line and she made 1-of-2 for the final score.
The Lady Braves scored more points off turnovers (22-18), more fast-break points (10-8), and committed fewer turnovers (20-21). The game featured no ties and five lead changes.
Alcorn is back at home this Monday as the team hosts Alabama State in a 5:30 p.m. matchup.
Notes
- The win marks Alcorn's first conference victory on its home court this season.
- The team has now won three straight, matching its season high. The Lady Braves opened their 2017-18 campaign with a road victory at Southeastern Louisiana and home wins over LeMoyne-Owen College and Blue Mountain College.
- Rushing's double is her seventh of the season and second in as many games. She led the Lady Braves past Arkansas-Pine Bluff last Monday with a career-high 21 points and 15 boards.
- Brown's nine points tie her season high. She netted nine points with seven rebounds in a Jan. 1 win at Prairie View A&M.
- Lane was perfect on the night as she made her lone shot attempt, a three-pointer, and converted both of her free-throws. She added four rebounds with an assist and a steal.
- Alcorn had a big fourth quarter, out-scoring its opponent 19-11. At one point, the Lady Braves were on a 15-2 run.
- The team shot over 60 percent in the second quarter and over 53 percent in the fourth. The Lady Braves also made four of their five three-pointers in the final 10 minutes.
- The win is Alcorn's lowest-scoring on the season. The team scored 70 or more points in each of its other victories.
Quoting Head Coach Courtney G. Pruitt
On playing with energy when it mattered
"We've got to get out of being so relaxed. We do that a lot. We didn't come out with the energy I expected, but we got it in the third and fourth, which matters most. We stayed in the game the entire time and didn't let the lead get beyond us. We stayed consistent and we kept fighting. It was an ugly win and we're not proud of it, but we were able to escape with a win and took care of home."
On the sluggish start
"Usually in practice, that's how we practice. We kind of come out sluggish at times and we weren't scoring the ball. We just had to get going and we were able to close up and finish, like we normally do: on fire, rolling on all cylinders, finding our shooters, and knocking down shots. So the momentum shifts for us and we did what we're good at doing. We are a good shooting team and we were able to shoot when it counted."
On De'Asia Brown's performance
"Her nine points were solid. De'Asia really stepped up and we've been talking to her. I think as we continue to play, you'll see better play from her in the conference. She's continuing to turn the corner and figure things out. She did a great job on defense and was able to turn her defense into offense and knock down open shots and get one in transition."
Quoting Rushing
On battling back in the fourth quarter
"As a team, we had to regroup and come back out in the second half and play more defense. We came out slow at first, but we turned our defense around and it got our offense going to help us come out with the win."
On the slow start at the beginning of the game
"We made a couple mental mistakes in the first couple of minutes. We gave them a lot of easy baskets and let them get going early. We only scored nine in the first quarter, that's not good. But we turned it around in the second and picked it back up. In the fourth quarter, after we went scoreless, we got our defense back together. Our defense is our way to get going and we need to stick to that earlier in the game."
On the last six minutes of the game
"The last six minutes were intense, but everyone stepped up and was ready to accept the pressure and accept their role. Our defense picked up our energy and we wanted to win more than them in the end. We got a lot of steals and converted on a lot of their turnovers. We picked up and made our layups and we just out-hustled them."
On her rebounding game
"I came out slow at first, but my rebounding helps the team, so I go in aggressive on the boards That's my strength, that's what I'm good at, so I try to do it well every game. I aim for at least 10 just so my team can get second-chance points and get us going offensively because my rebounding is a way to pick the team up. I just want to be there and do my part for the team."
#FearTheBrave
Â
