Alcorn Hits the Road Saturday at UTEP
Women's Basketball |

Alcorn Hits the Road Saturday at UTEP

Alcorn Game Notes | UTEP Game Notes | Live Stats

EL PASO, Texas – In its first road game of the season, the Alcorn State University women's basketball program will travel to UTEP for a 7 p.m. contest Saturday at the Don Haskins Center.
 
The Lady Braves (0-1) are looking to bounce back from a tough season-opening defeat to Lane College 70-58. Junior Toddriana Isler shined with a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Jada Hargrove turned in an all-around effort with 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.
 
Also in double-figures was junior transfer Charisma Walker who tallied 10 points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes.
 
Hargrove returns as Alcorn's most experienced played from last year having started all 30 games in 2017-18. The Lady Braves also brought back starting post player Jamaysha Bernard for her sophomore year.
 
De'Asia Brown is the lone senior on the team. She was a significant contributor off the bench last year and registered four double-figure scoring games.
 
Saturday will be the season-opener for UTEP which finished 17-14 overall and 7-9 in Conference USA a year ago. The Miners brought back two starters including forward Jordan Alexander who is the only senior on the squad. Alexander averaged 8.4 points and 6.0 rebounds last season.
 
Despite not playing a regular season game yet, UTEP has won a pair of exhibition games. The Miners defeated Western New Mexico 66-45 and St. Mary's (Texas) 70-51. Alexander notched 17 points and six rebounds against WNMU, and 13 points and six rebounds against St. Mary's.
 
The Lady Braves will return home Thursday, Nov. 15 when they host Southeastern Louisiana at 5:30 p.m. at the Davey L. Whitney Complex. Alcorn beat SLU last season on the road 84-77 in overtime.
 
NOTES
 - The Lady Braves are 0-3 all-time against UTEP with the last meeting coming in 2014-15. It will be the first meeting under head coach Courtney G. Pruitt.
 
- Alcorn was predicted to finish eighth in the SWAC Preseason Poll. The Lady Braves ended in sixth in the standings last year.
 
- The Lady Braves brought back two starters and four letterwinners from last season. Despite losing their top-four leading scorers, Alcorn reloaded with eight newcomers including four JUCO transfers.
 
- Alcorn gets back redshirt-sophomore Aysha Kirkland who missed last season due to injury. Kirkland logged 552 minutes and made four starts as a freshman in 2016- 17.
 
- The Lady Braves led the SWAC in three-pointers made last year with 5.8 per game. They finished second in the league in three-point percentage (.298), steals (11.4 spg) and offensive rebounding (14.7 orpg).
 
- Pruitt enters her fourth season at the helm. She made an immediate impact when she took over and coached Norianna Haynes to the 2015-16 SWAC Player of the Year honor. The following year in 2016-17, she coached Henrietta Wells to SWAC Defensive Player of the Year accolades and Alexus Freeman to SWAC Newcomer of the Year. Pruitt coached Wells in becoming the program's all-time leading shot blocker with 242.
 
- On Pruitt's coaching staff are Ta'Neil Lewis and E. Todd Moore. Lewis came from Wiley College where she assisted the team to a pair of NAIA National Tournament appearances including a Final Four, and two Red River Athletic Conference Titles. Moore has over 20 years of coaching experience including Division I stints at South Carolina State, Savannah State, Cincinnati and Morgan State.
 
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