GRAMBLING, La. – After the Alcorn State University women's basketball program pulled to within one midway through the third quarter, Grambling State went on a 10-2 run to push its lead to double digits to help secure a 68-51 final Monday night at the Frederick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
Junior guard Cloe Lane finished with a team-high 14 points on 5-12 shooting from the field, 3-7 from distance, and a perfect 1-1 at the charity stripe. The Kansas City, Kans. native added three rebounds and a pair of steals. Also reaching double-digit scoring was junior guard De'Asia Brown, who flirted with a double-double as she netted 11 points and led the Lady Braves (9-13, 5-6 SWAC) on the glass with a season-high eight boards. The Chesapeake, Va. product earned a season-high four assists with a steal.
Alcorn went 19-62 (30.6 percent) from the floor, including 6-21 (28.6 percent) from beyond the arc, and 7-18 (38.9 percent) at the free-throw line.
The Lady Tigers (11-11, 8-3 SWAC) opened the scoring with six unanswered before Brown scored a layup to get the Lady Braves on the board. The bucket ignited an 8-0 swig by Alcorn, highlight by a Lane three ball that gave the guests an 8-6 lead with :55 left in the opening quarter. GSU then got a jumper from Darae Taylor in the closing seconds as the team went into the second knotted at 8-8.
Senior guard Tia Sanders and Lane put Alcorn back in control as Sanders converted a pair of freebies and Lane knocked down a jumper. The Lady Braves saw their lead disappear, though, as the hosts shot 6-13 and 8-10 at the line in the period. After Jazmin Boyd made both of her free throws and Shakyla Hill tied the game at 12-12, the Lady Tigers used a 10-4 run to wrestle back the lead. Sanders and Lane each connected from beyond the arc to close the gap, but GSU went into the break ahead 28-23.
Sophomore guard Jada Hargrove made it a one-point game with a three-pointer at the 5:46 mark in the third quarter, but Hill got hot, scoring 10 of her 22 points to help GSU pull away. The junior guard's jumper at the end of the quarter made it 47-37 and the Lady Tigers controlled the final 10 minutes of play with a 21-point fourth quarter.
Following Hill in scoring was Boyd with 20 points off the bench, while Kailyn Gideon and Justice Coleman chipped in nine apiece. The Lady Tigers shot 25-54 (44.4 percent) on the night, 2-12 (16.7 percent) from long-range, and 18-26 (69.2 percent) at the stripe.
The Purple and Gold had more production off the bench (27-24) and collected more steals. The game featured two ties and as many lead changes. Grambling led by as many as 20 with three and a half left in the final quarter, while Alcorn's largest advantage was by four points with just under eight remaining in the second.
Alcorn is back home this Saturday as they host Mississippi Valley State in a 3 p.m. game at the Davey L. Whitney Complex. The Lady Braves will be looking to make it nine straight against the Devilettes after defeating MVSU 76-70 on Jan. 13 in Itta Bena, Miss.
Notes
- GSU has now won four straight in the all-time series and sweeps the regular season series for the second year in a row.
- Brown has now reached double figures for both her second game in a row and her second time this season. She led the Lady Braves in their loss at Jackson State last Saturday with a season-high 15 points.
- Brown played a season-high 25 minutes.
- Senior guards Alexus Freeman and Sanders were both held to under 10-points, marking just the second time this season that's happened. At Louisiana-Lafayette on Dec. 20, the Ragin' Cajuns held Freeman to eight points and Sanders to six.
- Freeman grabbed three steals to continue her streak of 21 straight multi-steal games.
- Freshman forward Danasia Fennie made her first career start as a Lady Brave. The Fort Myers, Fla. Native scored a bucket with five rebounds, an assist, and a steal in 26 minutes of action.
- Lane tied her season mark for three-pointers made with a 3-7 effort from deep.
- Sanders logged 40 minutes, marking her seventh complete game of the season.
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