LORMAN, Miss. – For the first time in 18 years, Alcorn Women's Basketball topped the century mark in scoring Wednesday evening, as the Braves defeated visiting Arkansas Baptist, 100-51 in a nonconference contest taking place at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
Alcorn (1-3) led 23-15 after the first quarter of play.
Baskets from
Destiny Brown and
Nakia Cheatham got the Braves under way, before
Zy'Nyia White poured in seven of her game-high 12 points on the night to lift the Purple and Gold to a 17-9 advantage midway through the opening quarter.
Arkansas Baptist (2-5) charged back late in the stanza when Jessica Nerestant poured in five of her team's 15 points in the quarter, assisted by Anna Kassim with buckets in a late Buffaloes flurry.
In the second quarter, Alcorn's
Tyginae Wright pulled up for three, pushing the Braves lead to double-digits at 29-16, before a Nerestant jumper chipped back into the lead moments later. But it would be another Wright three-pointer – one of her three during the game, that lifted the Braves to a 34-18 advantage with 5:24 remaining in the first half.
From there,
Kiarra Henderson would convert a pair from the free throw line while
Kailyn Watkins drilled a long-range effort to give Alcorn a 44-22 halftime lead.
After the break, the Braves used a powerful 33-12 scoring run in the third quarter to break the game open.
Destiny Brown opened the frame with six points before
Ashanti Backus drilled a three-pointer to increase Alcorn's lead at 58-24 just under four minutes into the quarter.
In all, the Braves shot 48 percent from three-point territory, connecting on 12-of-25 shots from long range. Meanwhile, the Braves defense thwarted the Buffaloes into an 0-for-9 performance from three-point territory in the contest.
T'Naye Griffin would get in on the shooting action with a three-pointer of her own off the bench.
Arkansas Baptist's Celebria Peacock tried to bring the visitors back into it with a five-point run of her own that cut into the margin, 68-34 with 2:38 remaining in the third quarter.
However, a 6-0 Braves run with baskets from Henderson, Watkins and
Akyriale Ford would prove to be too much as the lead swelled to 73-34. A Henderson layup was soon followed by free throws from Ford and Watkins, respectfully, allowing the Purple and Gold a 77-34 edge heading into the final quarter of play.
With Alcorn holding a 97-51 lead and the clock winding down,
Nia McCalphia pulled up for three and drained it as the buzzer sounded, allowing the Braves a 100-point scoring game for just the 11th time since the 1990-91 campaign. The last 100-point game for Alcorn, coincidentally, came at the expense of Arkansas Baptist during the 2003-04 season.
The Buffaloes were led by Nerestant with 10 points, six rebounds and an assist. Behind her was Peacock with seven points – five of those coming in the third quarter.
Alcorn forced the Buffaloes into 31 turnovers on the night, while going on to outscore the visitors by a 53-19 advantage in bench points. Off turnovers, the Braves outscored Arkansas Baptist, 36-14.
Alcorn shot 54.4 percent from the floor overall as well.
Five players reached double-figures scoring in the game for the Purple and Gold, led by White with her 12-point effort. She was followed closely by Wright and Griffin with 11 points each. Cheatham controlled the boards with a team-high eight rebounds. And it was
Cayla Obillo tallying five assists on the night. Wright and McCalphia each had four assists of their own.
Alcorn is back in action next Tuesday, Nov. 22, when the Braves host New Orleans to the Davey L. Whitney Complex at 6 p.m. Fans are encouraged to bring a canned food item to the game for free admission, as Alcorn Athletics partners with local churches to feed the community for Thanksgiving.
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