MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama State battled back from a 17–point deficit, but the Alcorn State University women's basketball team made 5-6 free-throws in the final 30 seconds to sweep the regular-season series with a 65-57 final Monday night at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome.
Senior guard Alexus Freeman led the charge with 16 points on 7-20 shooting from the field, including 1-5 from long range, and a 1-6 effort at the free-throw line. She added four rebounds with an assist and three steals. Junior guard De'Asia Brown contributed 11 points with four boards and two assists off the bench, while senior forward Miracle Rushing recorded a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Alcorn shot 26-67 (38.8 percent) from the field, 1-15 (6.7 percent) from beyond the arc, and 12-20 (60.0 percent) at the free-throw line.
The game got off to a slow start, with a Rushing jumper opening the scoring at the 7:11 mark and ASU's Shamyiah Smith knocking down a three-pointer with 5:47 on the clock. Alcorn then scored nine unanswered before a Nia Sapp bucket ended the Lady Hornet's scoring drought of 4:29. Freeman beat the buzzer as the opening quarter came to a close with the Lady Braves ahead, 13-5.
Alcorn used a 10-1 run at the start of the second quarter to build a 23-6 lead, but got into a cold streak that allowed ASU to close the gap. The Lady Hornets used a 12-2 swing that ate up the rest of the half and the Lady Braves went into the break up 25-18.
Alabama State stormed back in the third quarter. Kayla Stephens hit a jumper and converted a pair of freebies to highlight an 8-2 swing that gave ASU its first lead since the first quarter, 26-25. Alcorn would wrestle back control 30-28 on a Johanna Lafayette layup. The teams continued to go back and forth and the home team went into the final 10 minutes with a 37-36 advantage.
Both teams battled in the fourth, with neither side able to hold the lead for long. Freeman connected from distance for Alcorn's first trey in the game to knot the game at 45-45 with 6:35 to play. Freshman forward Danasia Fennie scored her first points of the game to put the Lady Braves on top 49-48 and Freeman followed with a steal with a fast-break layup. Ugochinyere Nwarie made 1-2 at the line, Tia Sanders got a shot to fall, and Jada Hargrove made a basket to cap off a 9-0 run. Arleatha Gipson would go 3-3 at the line to close the gap 58-53, but Freeman hit a jumper at the top of the key as Alcorn led 60-53 with 1:16 remaining.
After the Lady Braves called a full timeout with :44 left, Tatyana Calhoun scored a bucket in the paint, but ASU was forced to send Freeman to the line. The senior went 1-2, but Rushing pulled down the miss and earned a trip to the charity stripe. The Meridian, Miss. would make the most of her free shots and Sanders added another 2-2 effort to make it a 10-point game. Stephens hit a late jumper, but the clock hit zero for a Purple and Gold victory.
Alcorn scored more points off turnovers (19-9), more second-chance points (20-16), more fast-break points (2-0), and more points off the bench (20-13). Both teams finished with 20 points in the paint. Alcorn also out-rebounded ASU 49-44, committed fewer turnovers (11-19), and grabbed more steals (8-3).
The game featured five ties and 12 lead changes. Alcorn led by as many as 17 (5:14 in the second).
The Lady Braves will wrap up the regular season with a three-game home stand, beginning Saturday with a 3 p.m. game against Southern at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
Notes
- The Lady Braves made just one three-pointer on the night in 15 attempts. It marks season lows in threes made and three-point field goal shooting percentage.
- Rushing's double-double marks her ninth of the season.
- Rushing was a perfect 4-4 at the line.
- Brown reached double figures for the third time this season.
- Alcorn sweeps ASU in the regular-season series for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
- The Lady Braves held ASU to just five points in the opening quarter. Alcorn also scored 29 points in the final 10 minutes.
Quoting Head Coach Courtney G. Pruitt
On letting ASU back in the game
"I think we like to make it a game. We came out big and held them to five points in the first quarter, but I think the heat affected us a lot. I'm very proud of the way the girls played, they had a really strong fourth quarter with 29 points."
On playing with poise after giving up the lead
"We had to go to our bench because we had some foul trouble in the third. We had Alexus Freeman with three, Jada Hargrove with three. So the foul trouble really hurt us, but we were able to overcome. I was very pleased with the rebounding job the ladies did tonight. We out-rebounded them, but what really hurt us was we couldn't make a three-point basket."
On Freeman taking over
"I told her just keep shooting, it's going to fall. She and Tia [Sanders] were having a bad shooting night. They couldn't make a two with a number two pencil. But they kept shooting and they stayed consistent to their game and it helped us out. Tia got to the free-throw line and we got her points there and Alexus just kept shooting the mid-range shots."
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