LORMAN, Miss. – Alcorn Women's Basketball is set to host the final two contests of the 2025-26 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) regular season as the Braves welcome Mississippi Valley State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff to Davey L. Whitney Complex this week. Still seeking an outright bid for the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Pepsi SWAC Women's Basketball Tournament, the Braves are trying to fend off Southern (La.), but lead the Jaguars by a 1.5-games in the head-to-head battle.
 
Alcorn will also gold "Senior Appreciation Night" against UAPB, as the programs celebrates the careers of Ja'Sharreah Hunt and Arene Iyekekpolor.
 
What: Game Twenty-Eight
Who: Alcorn (16-11, 13-3 SWAC) vs. Mississippi Valley State (6-21, 5-11 SWAC)
When: Tuesday, March 3, at 6 p.m. CT
Where: Lorman, Miss. – Davey L. Whitney Complex (7,000)
 
Watch: SWAC TV
Attend: Online Ticket Sales
Live Stats: Click Here
Listen Live: WPRL-FM 91.7
 
What: Game Twenty-Nine
Who: Alcorn vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff
When: Thursday, March 5, at 6 p.m. CT
Where: Lorman, Miss. – Davey L. Whitney Complex (7,000)
 
Watch: Braves Sports Network
Attend: Online Ticket Sales
Live Stats: Click Here
Listen Live: WPRL-FM 91.7
 
IN THE RANKINGS
▪ Alcorn is not ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25
▪ Mississippi Valley State is not ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25
▪ Arkansas-Pine Bluff is not ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with everything Alcorn Women's Basketball this season by following the Braves social media platforms. You can follow @BravesSports on X/Twitter and @AlcornSports on Instagram.
 
NEWS & NOTES
▪ Alcorn is still looking for a potential to be the No. 2 seed in the upcoming SWAC Basketball Tournament. Alabama A&M has already clinched the regular season title.
▪ Last week at Prairie View A&M, Nakia Cheatham eclipsed 1,000 points for her career.
▪ Maya Hunkin-Claytor needs nine (9) three-pointers to tie the all-time single season record for most threes.
▪ Cheatham ranks near the top of the league with seven double-doubles, and having scored in double figures in 20 games altogether.
▪ Arene Iyekekpolor set a new career-high last week at PVAMU with 21 points on 8 of 9 shooting from the field.
▪ Kiarra Henderson enters the week with 121 assists, placing atop the SWAC in that category.
▪ The Braves are looking to close out one of the best home seasons in over a decade, seeking a 10-win home campaign if they can defeat both visiting squads this week.
▪ Alcorn is also looking to break the 2004-05 team record of 14 SWAC wins in a single season – the most in recent recorded history.
 
RECAPPING ALCORN'S LAST GAME (at Prairie View A&M)
Despite shooting just 29 percent from the field, Alcorn managed to push past Prairie View A&M 48-38 in an important SWAC contest at William J. Nicks Building in Prairie View, Texas.
 
• 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.
 
ALCORN VS. MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE SERIES
▪ Alcorn leads the series against Mississippi Valley State by a count of 61-36.
▪ After suffering a season sweep against the Delta Devilettes last season, the Braves registered a 75-72 win in Itta Bena earlier this season.
▪ The Purple and Gold won four consecutive against MVSU from 2023-24.
▪ Alcorn is 7-3 in its last 10 meetings against MVSU in Lorman.
 
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE
▪ Mississippi Valley State enters play with a 6-21 overall record and 5-11 mark in SWAC play, averaging 58.7 points per game on the season.
▪ Ariel Jefferson leads the team in scoring at 9.4 points per game and is MVSU's top rebounder with 6.3 boards per night across 27 games.
▪ In conference play alone, Jefferson is averaging 9.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while shooting 43.8% from the field, her most efficient stretch of the season.
▪ Jaeda Murphy is the team's primary ball-handler, leading MVSU with 86 assists on the season while averaging 32.8 minutes per game – the most of any player on the roster.
▪ Murphy is also MVSU's steals leader with 40 on the season.
▪ For the Delta Devilettes, it's Janiya Jones serving as the primary three-point shooter, attempting 168 threes on the season – most on the team, while averaging 6.7 points per game.
 
ALCORN VS. ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF SERIES
▪ Alcorn leads the all-time series against Arkansas-Pine Bluff by a count of 17-14 dating back to 2011.
▪ After winning three consecutive against the Golden Lions, including a season sweep last year, the Braves dropped a 64-60 contest away in Pine Bluff earlier in the campaign.
▪ The Braves lost five consecutive against the Golden Lions from 2021-2023, respectfully.
▪ In the last 20 seasons, Alcorn's longest win streak against UAPB is four from 2011-12 – sweeping both season meetings between the two sides.
 
SCOUTING ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF
▪ The Golden Lions average 60.2 points per game, while allowing 68.8 in reverse.
▪ UAPB has won six of its last eight games, including back-to-back victories over Prairie View (81-56) and Mississippi Valley State (68-48).
▪ Indiya Bowen leads UAPB in scoring at 14.7 points per game, shooting 35.5% from the field and 75.5% from the free-throw line. She has made a team-high 62 three-pointers as well.
▪ Jasmine Davis contributes 7.2 points per game and ranks among team leaders in assists (55) and steals (41).
▪ The Golden Lions shoot 38.5% from the field and 28.0% from three-point range.
▪ Khalani Gardner is shooting a team-best 52.9% from the field, averaging 7.3 points per contest.
 
UP NEXT
Alcorn heads to Atlanta, Georgia, taking part in the Pepsi SWAC Women's Basketball Tournament, set to run March 9-14, at the Gateway Center.
 
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