Lady Braves Go Cold against Rust

LORMAN, Miss. – A tough shooting night was too much for the Alcorn State University women's basketball program to overcome as it dropped a 78-59 decision to Rust College on Monday at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
 
The Lady Braves (1-8) were 25-for-77 (.325) from the floor including a 1-for-12 (.083) mark from three-point range. Conversely, Rust (11-0) remained undefeated after posting a 31-for-64 (.484) clip, including a 6-for-14 (.429) night from beyond-the-arc.
 
Alcorn held a 52-39 rebounding advantage and an 18-6 edge in bench scoring. Junior Diamond Hall pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds to go along with eight points. Junior Toddriana Isler secured 10 rebounds and scored seven points.
 
The offense was paced by Jada Hargrove who notched 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals in 39 minutes. Senior De'Asia Brown and junior Charisma Walker tallied 12 points apiece.
 
The hot hand was on the other end of the court though as Rust's Keimeshia Walker netted 33 points including a 9-for-10 mark at the free throw line. Kennethah Harden ended with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Katie Blackmon finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Alcorn's only lead of the game came in the opening minute as Hargrove pulled up and knocked down a mid-range jumper to make it 4-3. After a slight 5-0 run by Rust to go up 8-4, the Bearcats scored the final seven points of the quarter to lead 21-11 at the end of the first.
 
After Rust went up 27-13 early in the second, Hargrove swished a three-pointer, Walker converted a lay-up and Kirkland scored inside to get the deficit down to 27-20 at the 4:06 mark. Though, the Bearcats again ended the quarter hot and lay-ups by Blackmon and Harden had them in front 37-24 at the intermission.
 
A 6-0 spurt by Rust extended the lead to 53-34 midway through the third. An old-fashion three-point play by Hargrove on the final possession trimmed the deficit to 61-45 heading into the final period.
 
Alcorn's best stretch of the game came early in the fourth after the defense caused turnovers which led to lay-ups. Brown, Hall and Hargrove all made one to force the Bearcats into a timeout with the score 61-51 with 8:17 remaining. Though after the timeout, Rust put the game out of reach with a 12-0 run as the Lady Braves again went cold.
 
Up next, Alcorn will play a pair of games at the FIU Tournament beginning Thursday at 11 a.m. (CT) against the host institution FIU. The Lady Braves will then play either South Alabama or New Mexico State on Friday.
 
NOTES
- Alcorn is now 4-1 all-time against Rust.
 
- The Lady Braves entered the game leading the SWAC in offensive rebounding with 14.6 per game. They dominated the offensive glass with 28 boards compared to Rust's 10. Alcorn outscored the Bearcats 19-11 in second chance points.
 
- Brown registered her fourth consecutive game of at least 12 points. It was her 10th career double-figure scoring game and sixth this year.
 
- Hargrove submitted her 10th career double-figure scoring game and fifth this season. It was the fourth time this year that she logged at least 39 minutes. Hargrove entered the game ranked second in the SWAC in minutes played.
 
- Walker etched her seventh double-digit scoring performance of the year and fifth in a row. She was a solid 6-for-8 from the floor.
 
- Of Hall's 12 rebounds, 10 were on the offensive side. It topped her previous rebounding high of 10 set at UAB on Nov. 30.
 
- Isler reached double-figures in rebounding for the fourth time this year.
 
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