Henderson, Cheatham Press Alcorn to Win

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Despite shooting just 29 percent from the field, Alcorn managed to push past Prairie View A&M 48-38 on Saturday afternoon in an important Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Women's Basketball contest at William J. Nicks Building in Prairie View, Texas.
 
Alcorn (16-11, 13-3 SWAC) keeps its hopes alive for capturing the No. 2 seed in the SWAC Women's Basketball Tournament taking place in two weeks in Atlanta, Georgia. Alabama A&M claimed the regular season title Saturday afternoon, while Prairie View A&M (2-26, 0-17) remains rooted at the bottom of the standings, still seeking its first win over a Division I opponent on the campaign.
 
Braves Standouts
• With her 12 points in the game, Nakia Cheatham has now scored in double figures 21 times for the Braves across the season.
• Kiarra Henderson has now produced double-digits scoring in 14 games as she poured in a game-high 14 on the day.
• Cheatham's 10 rebounds completed her double-double – her seventh of the season, all coming in SWAC play.
• Maya Hunkin-Claytor inches closer to the single-season three-point record, converting two on the day. She now needs nine (9) more to match the record.
• Alcorn put up 21 three-point attempts, making just four.
• Ja'Sharreah Hunt was 0-for-5 shooting from the field, while Chrishunti Walker played just four minutes for the Purple and Gold.
• Henderson also handed out a game-high tying four assists and picked up two steals to go along with her five boards.
 
How It Happened
• Alcorn led wire-to-wire, never relinquishing the lead at any point.
• The Braves outscored the host Panthers 27-15 in the first half, building a 12-point as the teams headed to the locker room.
• Alcorn jumped out to an early 8-0 run to open the game, with Henderson fueling the surge with 4 points and 2 assists in the opening minutes.
• Prairie View A&M did not score until CJ Wilson converted a paint jumper at the 5:02 mark, ending an extended scoreless stretch.
• Jacque Giron provided a spark off the Panthers bench, hitting a fast-break three-pointer with 1:06 left to cut the deficit to 10-5.
• The Braves picked up right where they left off, extending the lead to double digits with a strong second period.
• Hunkin-Claytor erupted for six of her eight first-half points in the second period, knocking down two critical three-pointers, both assisted by Jeanee Anderson, to push the lead to 9 (11-20) at the 4:50 mark.
• Arene Iyekekpolor drilled a three-pointer off a turnover with 1:43 remaining to push the lead to its largest of the half at 25-13.
• Prairie View went scoreless from three the entire second period (0-of-6) and shot just 23.1 percent from the field.
• Alana Shields surged for nine points in the second half for the Panthers, hitting 4-for-9 from the floor.
• PVAMU shot better in the final 20 minutes, connecting on 38.1 percent, while the Braves were limited to just 7 of 27 shooting overall (25.9 percent).
• Cheatham supplied 10 of her 12 points in the game during the second half.
• Alcorn turned 19 Prairie View turnovers into 21 points.
• Rebounds were equal on the day, while the Braves collected 13 off the offensive glass.
• The Panthers slowed the Braves down by limiting the visitors to just two (2) fastbreak points, compared to nine from the hosts.
 
Up Next
Alcorn returns home Tuesday, March 3, when the Braves host Mississippi Valley State to Davey L. Whitney Complex at 6 p.m.
 
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