LORMAN, Miss. – The Alcorn Women's Basketball Team (0-3) returns to the friendly confines of the Davey L. Whitney complex for the 2022-23 home opener against Arkansas Baptist (2-4), Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 6:00 p.m. The Braves faced a tough three-game road swing to open the season with travel to Oklahoma, Kansas and Illinois.
THE GAME: Arkansas Baptist Buffaloes (2-4) at Alcorn Braves (0-3)
WHEN: Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 6 p.m. CT
WHERE: Davey L. Whitney Health and Physical Education Complex (Lorman, Miss.)
LIVE STATS: Alcorn
LISTEN LIVE: WPRL 91.7 FM / Tune In (Alcorn)
CANNED FOOD DONATIONS
Alcorn Athletics is accepting canned food donations for admission at the next two women's basketball games, including Arkansas Baptist and New Orleans. Donations will go toward supporting local churches and food banks for the holidays.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with everything Alcorn Women's Basketball this year by following the Braves social media platforms. You can follow
@AlcornSports on Instagram and
@BravesSports on Twitter.
SERIES VS. ARKANSAS BAPTIST
Wednesday will mark the third meeting in the series for these programs, most recently playing in the 2004-05 season with a 104-30 Braves victory. Alcorn holds a 2-0 lead in the overall series.
LAST SEASON FOR THESE TEAMS
Alcorn completed the 2021-22 season with a 3-22 record, including two victories over SWAC opposition. Arkansas Baptist went 0-14 last year. Alcorn Head Coach
Nate Kilbert is in his third season and has a record of 10-38 with the Braves (189-384 career). ABC Head Coach Marlow Rockwell is in his second season leading the program.
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BRAVES
After a hard-fought battle at Wichita State that saw the Shockers pull away in the second half to win 63-57, the Braves faced a much heavier task over the weekend, heading to Illinois to square off with a hot-shooting Fighting Illini squad.
Falling into a 51-25 deficit at the break, Alcorn came out firing with a 13-2 run out of halftime,
Destiny Brown and
Ashanti Backus accounting for 11 of those points. However, Illinois regained it's footing and charged forward to a 90-59 win behind the strength of 52.2 percent perimeter shooting and 21 points from guard Makira Cook - who went 4-for-5 from beyond the arc.
Brown and Backus topped the scoring for Alcorn, both in double-figures at 13 and 11, respectively. In just 13 minutes and coming off the bench, Backus was a spark with 4-for-4 shooting while going 2-for-2 from the line. Brown matched
Nakia Cheatham with five boards to lead the Alcorn rebounding efforts.
ALCORN HEAD COACH NATE KILBERT ON OPENING AT HOME AGAINST ABC
I think the most important thing for us is to get a win. We've actually played well in all the games against tough teams with more exhibitions and closed scrimmages under their belts. This is an important home game for us and we need to continue to play well. We're looking for Arkansas Baptist to be quick, do a lot of pressing and take a lot of three-point shots.
THE BRAVES IN THE 2022-23 SEASON
The Alcorn Braves have a deep roster with full sets of capable rotations after welcoming seven new players to Lorman, including five junior college transfers, one graduate transfer from a Division I program and an international high school recruit.
After a slow start in her debut, one such transfer has emerged to meet her high expectations. Over the past two games, center
Destiny Brown out of Southern Nevada has averaged 12.5 ppg while shooting .631, collecting 5.5 rpg and 3 blocks. Brown was an NJCAA All-America Second Team selection at USN, averaging 16.6 ppg and 12.9 rpg, using her 6-3 frame to block 4.4 shots per outing (third most in NJCAA Division I). Redshirt sophomore forward
Akyriale Ford is averaging 7.0 ppg with 4.0 rpg and 4 blocks on the year. Senior forward
Tyginae Wright is just behind at 6.7 ppg with 3.0 rpg and a team-high 6 assists on the season. has put up 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds through two games. Ford has also collected a pair of blocks, while Wright has five assists. Coahoma Community College combo player
Nakia Cheatham is averaging 5.0 points and 3.7 rebounds early in her first year since averaging a double-double of 12.0 points/11.5 rebounds in earning NJCAA All-Region 23 honors at CCC.
Against a challenging slate thus far, the Braves are averaging 48.3 ppg with 34.7 rpg.
ABOUT THE ARKANSAS BAPTIST BUFFALOES (LADY BUFFS)
Entering the second season under Marlow Rockwell, the Lady Buffs already have a pair of wins in their pocket on a 2-4 record since opening the season Oct. 27 in the NAIA's Continental Athletic Conference. Their last time out saw Arkansas Baptist absorb a 74-41 loss at Blue Mountain Christian University in Blue Mountain, Miss. Sophomore Guard Keimora Banks shot 5-for-9 to lead ABC with 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists. Freshman center Jessica Nerestant topped the Lady Buffs on the glass with 8 rebounds.
On the season, Banks paces Lady Buffs scoring with 8.5 ppg, shooting 46.7 percent from the floor and averaging 2.5 rpg and 2.5 apg. Junior guard Aaliyah Bynum puts up 6.8 ppg and shoots 47.8 percent so far. Sophomore forward Anna Kassim leads the team in threes, averaging 6.5 ppg and adding 4.0 rpg. Nerestant is collecting a team-leading 11.5 rebounds per outing, while also chipping in 5.3 ppg.
CATCH THE BRAVES LIVE AT THE WHITNEY IN 2022-23
Season Tickets for the 2022-23 Alcorn men's and women's basketball teams at the Davey L. Whitney Health and Physical Education Complex are now available for purchase at
https://alcornsports.myimpacttickets.com/basketball. Season tickets for the home SWAC competitions are $76.25, while single-game admission is $12.65 in advance.
UP NEXT
The Braves' remain in Lorman into the next couple of weeks, playing host to the University of New Orleans on Nov. 22 and bringing in Central Arkansas after Thanksgiving on Nov. 29 at the Davey L. Whitney Health and Physical Education Complex.
For all Alcorn State Athletics news, follow us on Twitter (
@BravesSports), Instagram (
@AlcornSports) and YouTube (
Alcorn State Sports)
– #FearTheBrave –
