UAPB Edges Alcorn in Closing Seconds

LORMAN, Miss. – In a game that featured 11 ties and 10 lead changes, Arkansas-Pine Bluff scored the final bucket of the game with five seconds left to snatch a 59-57 decision from the Alcorn State University women's basketball program Monday at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
 
The game was tied 57-57 when UAPB's (4-8, 1-4 SWAC) Kyeonia Harris converted a lay-up with five seconds remaining. The Lady Braves (3-15, 2-4 SWAC) had one last chance as senior De'Asia Brown ran the court, but her driving lay-up rolled off the rim at the buzzer.
 
Junior Jada Hargrove matched her career-high with 17 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists. Brown and freshman Diamond Hall scored 10 points apiece. Sophomore Jamaysha Bernard scored eight points and pulled down 10 rebounds.
 
Harris led the Golden Lions with 13 points. Aiya El Hassan finished with 11 and Trasity Totten 10.
 
UAPB scored the first five points of the game, but Alcorn answered with a 6-0 run which included four points from Bernard to take a 6-5 lead midway through the first. The Lady Braves took the lead 10-6 after a jumper by Hargrove and a lay-up by Brown. Alcorn led at the end of a defensive first quarter 12-8.
 
After the Golden Lions cut the deficit to 18-17 in the second, the Lady Braves responded with a jumper and three-pointer by Brown to stay ahead 23-17 at the 4:44 mark. After UAPB tied it with back-to-back threes, Alcorn went back on top 27-23 on a jumper by Hall. Harris hit a last-second three-pointer, but the Lady Braves led 27-26 at the intermission.
 
UAPB used a 10-0 run in the third quarter to catapult ahead 36-29 with 3:22 remaining. However, Alcorn punched back with an 8-0 run to end the quarter which included a three-pointer by sophomore Kirdis Clark at the buzzer. The Lady Braves led 37-36 heading into the fourth.
 
A back-and-forth fourth quarter had the Lady Braves down by three when Hargrove hit a three-pointer to tie it at 55 with 1:09 left. After a pair of free throws by El Hassan, Hargrove made a lay-up to again keep it tied 57-57 with 37 seconds remaining.
 
The Lady Braves got a stop defensively and had the chance to take the lead, but turned it over with 13 seconds left. It led to the go-ahead lay-up by Harris with five seconds.
 
Alcorn was stung by the free throw line where it shot 7-for-16 (.438) in the game. The Lady Braves out-rebounded the Golden Lions 44-40.
 
Alcorn will be back in action Saturday when it heads to Alabama State for a 3 p.m. road game. Alcorn swept the season-series over the Hornets last year.
 
NOTES
- The Lady Braves are now 4-3 against the Golden Lions under head coach Courtney G. Pruitt.
 
- Alcorn entered the game leading the SWAC in offensive rebounding with 16.3 per game and pulled down 15. Bernard secured five offensive rebounds.
- Hargrove matched her career-high of 17 points set last season at Alabama A&M. She was a perfect three-for-three from long-range. She notched her 14th career double-figure scoring game and ninth this year.
 
- Brown has scored in double-figures in every conference game this year. She distributed a career-high eight assists which doubled her previous best.
 
- Hall etched her fifth double-digit scoring performance of the year and second in a row. She was five-for-eight from the floor.
 
- Bernard, who was coming off a double-double of 15 points and 17 rebounds against Mississippi Valley State, recorded double-figures in rebounding for the third straight game. She also had three steals which matched her career-high.
 
- Starting post-player Toddriana Isler sat out for the fifth consecutive game due to injury. Isler leads the team with 6.8 rebounds per game with three double-doubles.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Courtney G. Pruitt
Opening Statement
"I tell the girls all the time I hate losing close games. We had a couple chances to win it but we've been so inconsistent. We don't know which team is going to show up each night. We're trying to motivate them to come out hard and play a full game.
 
On what they could have done better
"We had opportunities. We had great looks at the basket. We were getting to the foul line. We got them in foul trouble. We were just cold tonight. We had the exact opposite of Saturday's shooting night. We know we that we can compete, but Pine Bluff was just the better team tonight. We couldn't make free throws. We couldn't make shots. It was like we couldn't throw the ball into the ocean."
 
On the final sequence
"The final shot was unbelievable. It bounced around a little and then it fell in. De'Asia caught it going the other way, went up the sideline and just missed the layup. We had a chance to send it to overtime, we just couldn't. We had a chance but the game was lost way before that. We gave away the lead. We didn't do a great job of capitalizing on their mistakes."
 
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