Alcorn Tops New Orleans, 65-56

LORMAN, Miss. – Alcorn Women's Basketball made it two wins on the bounce Tuesday evening as the Braves took down visiting New Orleans, 65-56 in nonconference action inside the Davey L. Whitey Complex.
 
Trailing 39-32 at the half, Alcorn (2-3) turned up the defensive intensity over the final two periods to limit the Privateers to just 17 points on 5-of-21 shooting from the floor.
 
The Braves would get to the line for 13 free-throw attempts in the third quarter.
 
Justice Ross extended the New Orleans (1-3) lead to 40-32 just over a minute into the period, with teammate Tiana Gipson sinking a three-pointer to put the visitors up 43-33 with 6:43 remaining in the quarter.
 
Alcorn then went on a 7-0 run with baskets from Kiarra Henderson and Cayla Obillo to chip into the deficit, 43-40 over a span of just two minutes. After free-throws from Tara Green and Kyla Davis put UNO's lead back to 47-40, it was Destiny Brown and Kailyn Watkins going inside to score the team's next five points, respectively.
 
Following Henderson's free-throw with 34 seconds remaining, Alcorn would trail just 47-46 heading into the stanza of play.
 
In all, the Braves outscored the Privateers 34-26 in the paint over the course of the game.
 
The Braves defense forced UNO into seven (7) fourth quarter turnovers. Meanwhile, both teams would score 21 points off turnovers for the game.
 
Alcorn shot 43.8 percent from the field in the final quarter, scoring 19 points in the process.
 
After a three-pointer from Ashanti Backus, Alcorn took its first lead since the second quarter, as the Purple and Gold moved out in front, 49-47.
 
UNO's Hennessey Luu-Brown responded with a jumper from the elbow to knot the game at 49-all with 8:22 showing on the clock. DeArica Pryor put the visitors back in front, 51-49 with her layup on a spin move off the baseline. She would add to the lead with a three-pointer that saw her side lead, 54-51 with 6:28 remaining.
 
With UNO on top 55-53 at the under-five media timeout, Alcorn ended the game on a 12-3 run to secure the victory for Head Coach Nate Kilbert.
 
Tyginae Wright's three-pointer was good from the left wing to give the Purple and Gold a 56-55 edge before Pryor silenced the crowd with a free-throw to tie the game, 56-56.
 
Zy'Nyia White drove the paint for two of her 15 points on the night to put Alcorn up for good, 58-56.
 
Brown's jumper with 3:08 remaining was later followed by a crucial layup with just over a minute left to push the Alcorn advantage to 62-56.
 
Free-throws from Obillo and Brown down the stretch were enough to see the home side earn its second win in a row at the Whitney Complex and have much-needed momentum headed into the Thanksgiving break. The crowd was in full voice on the night, as several students stayed to support women's hoops before heading home for the holiday.
 
The two teams had nothing between them at the end of the first period, before a 7-0 run ensued by New Orleans to begin the second quarter, led by Scott and Pryor with back-to-back baskets. Luu-Brown added a three-pointer to push the Privateers in front, 28-23. After a Brown layup for the Braves, Gipson accepted a pass from Francois to score and extend their lead back to five at 30-25.
 
The UNO lead swelled to nine following Gipson's layup and a free-throw from Scott to put the visitors up, 34-25.
 
In the first quarter, Alcorn ran out to a quick 10-5 lead behind the shooting of White. She would score 10 of Alcorn's 21 first quarter points, finishing the period 4-of-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe, respectfully.
 
New Orleans was forced into 27 turnovers as a team and shot just 27.8 percent from long range on the night.
 
The Privateers were led in the scoring column by Pryor (14), while Gipson added eight points. Ross led her side with seven rebounds, while Luu-Brown finished with a game-high matching four assists.
 
For Alcorn, it was Brown's 18-point, five-round effort that paved the way for the win. White had 15 points, seven boards and four assists. Henderson led all rebounders with 11 boards in the game. And it was Brown also using five blocked shots to lead all players in that category.
 
As a unit, Alcorn had 17 assists on its 23 made baskets.
 
The Braves return to the court Tuesday, Nov. 29, when they play host to Central Arkansas back inside the Whitney Complex. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
 
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