Lady Braves Open Road Swing at Southern
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Lady Braves Open Road Swing at Southern

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BATON ROUGE, La. – The Alcorn State University women's basketball team plays its only game of the weekend Saturday as the Lady Braves are at Southern for a 3 p.m. tipoff in the F.G. Clark Activity Center.

 

Alcorn comes into the game riding a four-game winning streak. Senior guards Tia Sanders and Alexus Freeman pace the offense with 16.6 and 15.5 points per game. The pair have a combined 82 three-pointers on the season and Freeman leads the squad with 90 assists and 80 steals. Senior forward Miracle Rushing is the leading rebounder, averaging 8.4 boards.

 

Freeman picked up SWAC Player of the Week honors on Tuesday after averaging 18.0 points, 7.0 assists, and 4.0 steals in wins over Alabama A&M and Alabama State.

 

The Lady Braves (9-10, 5-3 SWAC) are shooting 463-1236 (37.5 percent) from the field, including 115-372 (30.9 percent) from beyond the arc, and 204-331 (61.6 percent) at the free-throw line. The team averages 65.5 points (-4.7), 36.8 rebounds (-5.3), 12.8 assists, 20.3 turnovers, 12.1 turnovers, and 2.1 blocks per contest.

 

"We've got to win the rebound and turnover war and we've got to make shots," said head coach Courtney G. Pruitt. "They've knocked us out of the tournament the past two years and they're number one right now, so we definitely want this one. What's better than beating number one?"

 

The Lady Jaguars (8-9, 7-1 SWAC) sit atop the league standings and have won six straight. Southern defeated AAMU 77-62 on Monday as Skyler O'Bear finished with a game-high 16 points. Alyric Scott followed with 14 points, Briana Green added 12, and Jaden Towner reached 10. Briana Thompson was the top rebounder with 10 boards.

 

Green is the top scorer with 16.9 points per outing, while Scott averages 14.0 points and Samantha Duncan 10.9. Duncan and O'Bear are the deep threats with a combined 53 long balls and Green controls the glass with 7.0 rebounds. On defense, Sarai Blissett owns 23 blocks and Green has 41 steals.

 

SU leads the conference in free-throw shooting, 219-309 (71.1 percent), and assist-to-turnover ratio (0.8). The Lady Jaguars are shooting 415-1086 (38.2 percent) from the floor and 80-305 (26.2 percent) from distance.

 

Alcorn went 1-2 versus SU last season. The teams split the regular-season with wins on their respective courts before meeting again in the opening round of the SWAC Tournament on March 7. The Lady Braves fought back from a 13-point deficit in the final quarter, but the Lady Jaguars held on for a 73-67 victory.

 

NOTES

 

- The Lady Braves are 4-6 on the road this season, including 3-1 in conference action.

 

- Alcorn's four-game winning streak is its longest in two years. The 2015-16 Lady Braves won four straight with wins at Grambling State, at home against Mississippi Valley State, at home versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and on the road at Alabama A&M.

- Freeman has reached double-digit points in five consecutive games. In conference action, she has reached the mark in 8-of-9 games. Sanders has reached double figures six times in the past seven outings and has scored 10 or more in all but two league contests.

 

- Freeman is fourth in the nation in steals per game (4.21) and fifth in steals (80) through games played on Jan. 25. She leads the conference and is 18th nationally in field goal attempts (338).

 

- Sanders is atop the league rankings in three-point field goal percentage (40.2).

- The Lady Braves scored 16 unanswered against the Lady Hornets in the second half, marking a season high.

 

#FearTheBrave

 

 

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