Alcorn Fends Off UAPB Down The Stretch For 57-54 Victory

LORMAN, Miss. – The Alcorn State University women's basketball program used a double-double from senior Toddriana Isler and a strong defensive effort to thwart the Lady Golden Lions, 57-54.

The Lady Braves (11-14, 7-6 SWAC) fought through a dreadful day of three-point shooting, converting only 1-of-10 (.100) triples on the evening, with its only deep ball coming courtesy of freshman Tyginae Wright deep into the fourth quarter.

Toddriana Isler had a superb outing against UAPB, securing her fourth career double-double and her first of the 2019-2020 campaign by accumulating a career-high 13 rebounds, nine of which were offensive, to go along with 10 points.

Junior Kirdis Clark led all scorers in the contest, draining six buckets for 18 points over 33 game minutes.

Sophomore Diamond Hall did a little bit of everything for the purple and gold, hauling in nine boards, dished out a game-high four assists, logged four points, swiped two steals and even swatted away a block.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff (4-19, 3-10 SWAC) won the turnover battle (29-25) but suffered from its own cold three-point shooting, connecting on just 2-of-13 (.154) as well.

Jayla Atmore was the most consistently impactful player on the court for the girls from Pine Bluff, registering a near double-double with nine points and nine rebounds while picking up four assists as well.

Kyeonia Harris was the lone Lady Golden Lion to hit double-figures, dropping an even 10 points.

Pine Bluff started off the contest with a 3-0 advantage before Alcorn woke up to record 16 of the final 19 points in the first quarter, leading 16-6 after one.

Both squads came out of the blocks in the second quarter slow offensively, combining for two points and 1-of-7 (.143) shooting from the floor at the media timeout. Alcorn slowly built its lead up to 13 (22-9), forcing a Lady Golden Lions timeout with 4:10 left in the half. The black and gold stopped the bleeding and got the momentum it was seeking from its timeout, outscoring the Lady Braves 11-3 and cutting the margin to five at the break, 25-20 Alcorn.

UAPB was able to completely close the gap after two free throws by Taylor Noe'll knotted the score at 31. While the Lady Golden Lions went ahead 34-33 shortly thereafter, Alcorn was able to end the third quarter with the edge, winning 44-40.

The seesaw battle kept going as the black and gold trimmed its deficit to one (48-47) before Alcorn tried to pull away once again when the score got up to a six-point advantage for the Lady Braves (54-48). Arkansas-Pine Bluff was able to get the game to come down to the final possession, similar to the teams first meeting, but once again the purple and gold prevailed with a defensive stand at the end to sneak away with a much needed 57-54 win and a season sweep of the Lady Golden Lions.

The girls from Lorman will make its annual trek to the Cotton State over the weekend as it looks to build upon its two-game winning streak at Alabama A&M and Alabama State, respectively.
 
NOTES
- The purple and gold improve to 38-14 in its meetings with the Lady Golden Lions after taking the first sweeping Arkansas-Pine Bluff in a pair of contests that came down to the final possession.

- The Lady Braves have matched their highest win total since the 2015-16 season (11).

- Alcorn and UAPB were basically dead even on the analytical aspects of the contest, as they had the same second chance points (10-10) while being within three points of each other in regard to bench points (23-20), points off turnovers (20-19), points in the paint (30-28) and fast break points (13-12).
 
Quoting Alcorn assistant coach Mike Pittman
 
On missing free throws (14 missed in the game):
"We have to keep working on those and postgame Coach Pruitt made that a point of emphasis on that we have to do better at the free throw line, especially at this stage in the season so tomorrow is the girls' designated day off. Us as a coaching staff are going to review this game, look at film and also prepare for next weekend."
 
On what has made UAPB so difficult to matchup with this season:
"Shoutout to Coach [Dawn] Brown and her staff, they play hard. She's trying to change the culture at Pine Bluff and it may take them some time but she has them in the right direction so for us we have to continue our winning ways but now we want to be more consistent. When you play a team like Arkansas-Pine Bluff, who likes to put pressure on you and play an up-and-down game, kind of similar to ours, it's the little things that make a difference. For us, it's hitting key shots and getting key steals at the right times to get the win."
 
On Toddriana Isler's double-double outing:
"We're really proud of Toddriana, we told her that in this second half of the season we really need you to step up as a senior so Coach Pruitt gave her that specific challenge of stepping up and over the past few ballgames, you've seen some gradual improvement by her. When we talked last week, I said as a staff that we need to find Toddriana a good spot so that's been a point of emphasis for us."
 
Senior forward Toddriana Isler
 
On winning the team's second game in-a-row:
"I knew we had to come out and prove a point to UAPB and the other teams as well. I felt like I had to fight for my teammates and the coaches as well. I truly had to come out with the wins so I try to do everything to get the win."
 
What has made playing UAPB so tough?:
"We knew they wasn't going to lay down and they were going to put up a fight, it basically came down to who wanted it more. I felt like myself, my teammates and my coaches as well put us in the right position to come out on top. They have heart, they came out ready to fight and they are a scrappy team, they're not going to take it easy on us."
 
On the biggest improvements she's made in her game since last season:
"I'm more disciplined, coming from a JUCO it was different, I just really had to adjust to the system. That's basically what I've been doing, adjusting and enjoying my last ride."
 
#FearTheBrave