LORMAN, Miss. – Alcorn Women's Basketball is set to tip-off for the first time in the 2023 calendar year, as the Braves welcome in-state opponent Jackson State to the Davey L. Whitney Complex on Monday, Jan. 2, at 2 p.m. The game serves as the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) opener for both programs.
THE GAME: Jackson State at Alcorn
WHEN: Monday, Jan. 2, at 2 p.m. CT
WHERE: Davey L. Whitney Complex (Lorman, Miss.)
LISTEN: WPRL 91.7 FM
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. JACKSON STATE
Jackson State leads the all-time series between the two schools by a count of 59-43 dating back to 1978. In fact, Alcorn has dropped the previous 10 games against the Tigers, respectfully. The last victory for the Braves came by way of a 74-51 score line at home under former head coach Courtney G. Pruitt during the 2016-17 season. That is also the last time the Braves swept JSU in a single-season, with the Purple and Gold securing a victory on the road earlier that season.
LAST TIME OUT BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES
Despite a competitive opening run, the Alcorn State women's basketball team could not keep the momentum going against conference foe Jackson State University. The Braves played well defensively but did not get past the Tigers, falling 65-44, inside the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
Alcorn State hit 16 of 19 (32.7 percent) from the field, including four of 20 (20.0 percent) from beyond the arc. The Braves added eight of 12 (66.7 percent) at the free-throw line to the overall score.
Zy'Nyia White led the Alcorn offense. The freshman from Hazlehurst, Miss., scored 9 points and brought down three boards. In the action, White hit three of 10 from the floor with one of two in three-point range. She was perfect at the line, landing two of two.
Other shooters for the Braves include
LaRae Rascoe with 7 points,
Kailyn Watkins for 6, and
Bria Broughton and
Akyriale Ford for 5 each.
Tyginae Wright led the team in rebounds, bringing down six while adding two steals and three points.
Jackson State tallied its 14th consecutive win against the Braves. The Tigers made 19 of its 54 (35.2 percent) attempts from the floor, including five of 19 (26.3 percent) from behind the arc. Ameshya Williams-Holliday led Jackson State in scoring with 14 points. Daja Woodard had a double-double on the day with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, and Jariyah Covington added 12.
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE ALCORN
Kiarra Henderson topped the Braves in scoring with 11 points as Alcorn Women's Basketball suffered a tough 70-56 setback away to UAB inside Bartow Arena. With Alcorn trailing 50-45 heading into the fourth quarter, it would be the final period that allowed the hosts to pull away for good. UAB connected on all 10 of its free throw attempts in the fourth quarter, while the Blazers added a pair of three-point baskets to outscore the visiting Braves by a 20-11 count across the final 10 minutes of play.
Margaret Whitley scored the Blazers' first five points of the fourth quarter, connecting on a three-pointer and a jumper just outside the paint. A pair of Lyndsey Robson free throws was followed by Whitley's pair of made shots from the charity stripe to extend the UAB lead at 59-45 just under three minutes into the period.
When UAB's Denim DeShields converted both of her free throw attempts, the Blazers held their largest lead of the afternoon to that point, 61-45. Counter to that, Alcorn was held scoreless for the first four minutes and 48 seconds of the final quarter.
T'Naye Griffin's free throws ended the Blazers scoring run. However, the first field goal by the Purple and Gold was converted off the baseline by
Destiny Brown with 4:28 remaining in the contest, cutting the deficit at 63-48.
Tyginae Wright scored the game's opening basket for the Braves within the first 20 seconds, before Whitley combined with forward Maria Roters to power a UAB 12-2 run that put the Blazers up early, 12-4. Baskets from
Ashanti Backus and Henderson allowed the Braves to cut the lead down to three, 14-11, before the Blazers' Destinee McGhee converted a pair of free throws – in addition to another Whitley shot from long range, to put UAB on top, 19-11 with 1:52 remaining in the first quarter.
Akyriale Ford added a basket for the Purple and Gold to make the score 19-15 at the end of the first quarter.
Maya Claytor and
Cayla Obillo supplied Alcorn with three points apiece in the second quarter, as the Braves trailed 33-27 at the half. Henderson led the Braves offensively with 11 points, followed by nine from Griffin. Henderson also topped the Braves in rebounds with nine, falling just short of a double-double performance. Brown added seven rebounds of her own. Meanwhile,
Zy'Nyia White had three steals. UAB was led in scoring by Whitley with 18, followed in double-digits by DeShields with 14 points and another 11 points from Amiya Payne.
CATCH THE BRAVES LIVE AT THE WHITNEY IN 2022-23
Season Tickets for 2022-23 Alcorn Women's Basketball at the Davey L. Whitney Health and Physical Education Complex are now available for purchase at
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
Alcorn Women's Basketball continues a stretch of three consecutive games at home when the Braves welcome SWAC opponent Alabama A&M to the Davey L. Whitney Complex on Saturday, Jan. 7, at 2 p.m.
Follow Alcorn State Women's Basketball on Twitter (
@AlcornWBB) for all the latest news and updates. For all Alcorn State Athletics news, follow us on Twitter (
@BravesSports), Instagram (
@AlcornSports) and YouTube (
Alcorn State Sports)
.
