PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Arkansas-Pine Bluff erased a 19-point third quarter deficit Saturday afternoon to upend Alcorn 64-60 in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Women's Basketball thriller housed inside H.O. Clemmons Arena in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. For the Braves, the loss snaps a two-decade long eight-game winning streak.
Alcorn (12-10, 9-2 SWAC) entered the game joint top of the SWAC standings with Alabama A&M, the only previous team to defeat the Braves prior to Saturday's contest – both of those games coming on the road. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (9-12, 6-5 SWAC) used a game-high tying 20 points from Jailah Pelly, scoring eight of those points in the fourth quarter – adding a 3-for-4 effort from the field.
Braves Standouts
•
Kiarra Henderson led all Braves in scoring with a game-high tying and season-high 20 points, adding eight assists and five rebounds.
• Three different players scored in double-figures – Henderson (20),
Chrishunti Walker (13) and
Nakia Cheatham (11).
• Cheatham turned in her fourth double-double of the campaign – and her second in the last three games, with 11 points and 10 rebounds on the afternoon.
• Henderson registered an 8 of 11 shooting touch from the field, including a three-pointer.
• Walker and Henderson combined to go 6-for-8 at the free throw line.
• This was the 17th game of the season in which Cheatham scored in double figures.
How It Happened
• For the fourth time in the last five games, Alcorn committed 20-plus turnovers in the contest. In all, Alcorn has committed 20 or more turnovers in 10 contests across the season.
• Alcorn held a 34-28 advantage for points in the paint, as Walker scored 10 of those.
• The Braves committed 15 turnovers in the second half, allowing the Golden Lions to score nine points off those miscues.
• Alcorn shot 48.4 percent from the floor in the opening half, limiting UAPB to just 30 percent shooting. However, the Braves recorded just nine field goals in the second half, while UAPB hit nine field goals in the third quarter alone.
• After Henderson's layup with 2:31 remaining in the first quarter allowed Alcorn to take a 21-10, the Braves pushed the lead to as many as 17 with
Jazlyn Johnson's three-pointer off a Golden Lions turnover, allowing the Braves a 31-14 edge just under three minutes into the second quarter.
• The Braves lead extended to as many as 19 when Henderson put back her own miss off the board for a layup with 9:43 showing in the third quarter.
• UAPB went on a 19-5 run over the next seven minutes, cutting the Alcorn lead at 47-42 thanks in part to baskets from Pelly and Indiya Bowen during the run.
• The Golden Lions outscored the Braves 25-11 in the third quarter, while Alcorn still managed a 51-48 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
• Arkansas-Pine Bluff took its first lead of the game with 4:34 remaining in the fourth period after Pelly collected a
Ja'Sharreah Hunt turnover and raced to the basket for a driving layup that put her side up 58-57.
• Alcorn stepped back in front with a Walker free throw to push the Braves lead at 60-58. But that was eventually diminished with a pair of free throws from UAPB's Pelly, knotting the score at 60-60.
• A pair of Bowen free throws put UAPB up for good at 62-60.
Up Next
Alcorn returns home to host SWAC opponent Florida A&M on Thursday, Feb. 12, at 6 p.m., inside the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
Follow Alcorn State Sports on Twitter (
@BravesSports) for all the latest news and updates. Follow us on Instagram (
@AlcornSports) and YouTube (
Braves Sports Network)
for even further behind-the-scenes action across all Braves Athletics.
