Jackson State: Game Notes | Live Stats | Radio
Grambling State: Game Notes | Live Stats | Radio
LORMAN, Miss. – With just the two days of rest, the Alcorn State University women's basketball program is back in action Saturday as the Lady Braves have their conference home opener at 3 p.m. against Jackson State in the Davey L. Whitney Complex. The team will then play its third game in six days on Monday as it hosts Grambling State in a 5:30 p.m. contest.
The Braves also take on Jackson State Saturday, with the men's game scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start. The doubleheader will be sponsored by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).
Alcorn has three players averaging double-digit scoring: senior guard Tia Sanders with 15.5 points, senior guard Alexus Freeman with 14.8 points, and junior guard Cloe Lane at 14.8 points. The trio have combined for 67 three-pointers this season. Senior forward Miracle Rushing has recorded five double-doubles and leads the team on the glass with 8.8 rebounds per game. Defensively, Freeman owns 52 steals and Lane has seven blocks.
"We've got to come in focused and stick to our game strategies this weekend," said head coach Courtney G. Pruitt. "Jackson has a deep bench and they get quality minutes out of a number of their players. We then play our third game in six days on Monday, so athletic treatment from our training staff and getting proper nutrition will be crucial."
Alcorn is shooting 315-868 (36.3 percent) from the field, 80-263 (30.4 percent) from long-range, and 130-211 (61.6 percent) at the free-throw line. The team averages 64.6 points (-8.0), 38.5 rebounds (-3.2), 12.5 assists, 20.4 turnovers, 11.0 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game.
Jackson State | Jan. 6 | 3 p.m.
Jackson State (7-4, 2-0) sits atop the league standings with Grambling State entering Saturday's game. The Lady Tigers have won three straight and are coming off a 59-43 win at home over Alabama A&M on Wednesday.
Derica Wiggins and Marneisha Hamer led JSU past the Lady Bulldogs with 11 points each. Mariah Smelser added nine points with eight rebounds. The Lady Tigers shot 23-60 (38.3 percent) from the field, including 2-8 (25.0 percent) from beyond the arc, and 11-19 (57.9 percent) at the free-throw line.
Wiggins is averaging 16.8 points a game to lead the team on offense. She is the go-to option from long-range with 17 three-pointers on the season. Following Wiggins in scoring are Christina Ellis with 9.8 points and Hamer with 8.8 points. Smelser owns 62 boards (5.6 pg) to lead JSU on the glass. On defense, both Wiggins and Ellis have 323 steals while Sumer Williams has made six blocks.
JSU is averaging 73.3 points (+9.9), 49.9 rebounds (+8.6), 13.3 assists, 20.5 turnovers, 16.1 steals, and 2.9 blocks per contest. The Lady Tigers lead the league in scoring offense, scoring margin, three-point field goal percentage defense, rebounding offense, rebounding margin, assists, steals, turnover margin, offensive and defensive rebounds, and offensive rebound percentage.
Alcorn swept the regular season series last year. The Lady Braves won 70-53 on Jan. 11 in Jackson and took the meeting in Lorman 74-51 on Feb. 4.
Grambling State | Jan. 8 | 5:30 p.m.
The Lady Tigers (5-8, 2-0) have won two in a row after defeating Alabama A&M 78-49 on New Year's Day and earning a 93-71 win over Alabama State on Wednesday. Against the Lady Hornets, Shakyla Hill recorded a quadruple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 steals. With that effort, she became the fourth player in NCAA Division I women's history and the first in nearly 25 years to accomplish the feat.
Deja McKinney and Hill pace GSU on offense with 13.0 and 12.6 points per game, respectively. Monisha Neal is close to double figures at 9.7 points. McKinney is the deep threat with 24 threes and Hill cleans up the glass with 6.5 boards per outing. On defense, Hill has 73 steals while McKinney and Kailyn Gideon have combined for 23 blocks.
Grambling is shooting 298-794 (37.5 percent) from the floor, 75-269 (27.9 percent) from deep, and 148-224 (66.1 percent) at the charity stripe. The team averages 63.0 points (-4.7), 33.4 rebounds (-11.8), 13.2 assists, 17.7 turnovers, 13.2 steals, and 3.0 blocks per game.
The Lady Tigers took both meetings last season with an 86-63 win on Jan. 9 and a close 67-63 win in Lorman on Feb. 6.
NOTES
- Alcorn leads the SWAC in three-point fields made with 6.2 per game. The squad ranks second in three-point field goal percentage, three-point field goal defense percentage (27.0), and offensive rebounding (15.8 orpg).
- Rushing leads the league in offensive rebounding with 4.0 offensive boards per game.
- Sanders and Freeman eclipsed 500 career points this past week. Sanders reached the milestone in Monday's win at Prairie View, while Freeman surpassed the mark in Wednesday's loss at Texas Southern.
- TSU's 91 points marked the most points by an opponent this season.
- Brianna Tolliver logged a season-high 23 minutes and went 2-3 from deep to finish with six points. The pair of three-pointers also marks a season high.
- Jada Hargrove matched her season high with a 2-4 effort from beyond the arc.
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