Alcorn Falls Short at New Orleans, 66-62

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Despite possessing the lead for 27 minutes of action, the final seconds were all that mattered as a trey from New Orleans' Mia Deck dashed the Alcorn women's basketball team's balanced effort and handed the Privateers a slim 66-62 decision over the Lady Braves Tuesday afternoon at Lakefront Arena.

New Orleans slowly chipped away at the Lady Braves' margin in the fourth, claiming the final lead switch on a Dionjhae Thomas layup at the 1:15 mark to vault ahead 63-61. A free throw from Deja Mitchell pulled Alcorn back within one, but Mia Deck's long-range dagger in the waning seconds proved the deciding shot in an otherwise tight battle.

Kirdis Clark led Alcorn with 19 points, while Mitchell added 13 and Diamond Hall posted 11 to round out the double-figure scorers. Aja Wheeler provided a key defensive performance with a career-high 10 boards and five steals.

Alcorn dominated early, jumping to an 8-2 edge that later ballooned to a 17-6 cushion thanks in part to 12 combined first-quarter points from Clark and Mitchell. The 11-point advantage proved to be Alcorn's largest of the game, and a pair of Jamaysha Bernard buckets from the charity stripe kept Alcorn in control, 19-10.

The Privateers countered with six-straight points to cut the deficit to three, but a long-range three from Nia McCalphia pushed Alcorn's edge back to six. New Orleans continued to hang around, with a Zoe Cooper layup trimming the difference to two points as Alcorn held the 30-28 lead headed to the locker room.

Another Mia Deck triple at the 8:07 mark proved a precursor to the final outcome, as New Orleans erased the Alcorn lead and seized the narrow 31-30 edge. Both squads traded blows, with Alcorn prevailing until a Traya Bruce three wiped out another purple and gold lead.

A Clark triple and Hall jumper knotted it twice, setting the tone for the last stanza. Wheeler's four points in the fourth proved crucial, with a fastbreak layup building a 57-53 Alcorn advantage down the stretch. New Orleans mounted a final push starting with five-straight points from Mary Delgado and concluding with the Deck trey to put it on ice.

Delgado paced the Privateers with 21 points while Deck contributed 16 and added six rebounds.

Alcorn rests until Jan. 2 when the Lady Braves host Texas Southern in its conference opener at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.