LORMAN, Miss. – Alcorn Women's Basketball is set for its first-ever game in the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) as the Braves welcome South Alabama to Davey L. Whitney Complex for the opening round Saturday, March 21, at 3 p.m.
 
Alcorn and South Alabama each fell in the quarterfinals of their respective conference tournaments as part of their last matchups.
 
What: Game Thirty-One
Who:  Alcorn (17-13) vs. South Alabama (16-18)
When: Saturday, March 21, at 3 p.m. CST
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
 
IN THE RANKINGS
▪ Alcorn is not ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25
▪ South Alabama 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
▪ This is Alcorn's first game ever in the WNIT.
▪ The last time Alcorn was in the postseason was the 2005 Women's NCAA Tournament, when the Braves took on Michigan State under legendary head coach Shirley A. Gibbs-Walker.
▪ In fact, the Braves competed in three NCAA Tournaments under Gibbs-Walker.
▪ Alcorn is led in scoring by Nakia Cheatham – the 2026 SWAC Defensive Player of the Year and All-SWAC First Team selection – with 395 points (13.2 ppg).
▪ Cheatham also leads the team in rebounds (228) and blocked shots (31). Kiarra Henderson is second on the Purple and Gold with 304 points (10.1 ppg), and second on the squad in rebounds (188), while topping the team in assists (133).
▪ The Coahoma CC alum was recently named to the BOXTOROW First Team All-America squad, announced Thursday.
▪ Maya Hunkin-Claytor is Alcorn's top threat from the outside with a school single season record of 71 made three-pointers, connecting at a 34.3 percent clip overall from beyond the arc.
▪ Cheatham has posted a team-high nine (9) double-doubles on the campaign, while Henderson has achieved three (3) of her own.
▪ Hunkin-Claytor has knocked down four or more three-pointers in game on eight different occasions this season, including a season-best seven (7) at home to Bethune-Cookman (Feb. 14).
▪ In her last outing versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Tournament, Lauren Nelson scored a season-high matching 16 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field.
 
RECAPPING ALCORN'S LAST GAME (vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff)
For the third time this season, Arkansas-Pine Bluff held off a furious late Alcorn rally Wednesday evening as the Golden Lions laid claim to a 64-60 win in the women's basketball quarterfinals of the Pepsi Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament presented by Buick at The Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.
 
How It Happened
• The Alcorn bench was quiet all game, finishing just 1-for-19 from the field combined – that one basket coming from Ja'Sharreah Hunt.
• Alcorn jumped out to a 11-4 lead midway through the first quarter behind six points from Lauren Nelson and five from Dalayja Hurt-Floyd. Nelson converted a pair of paint buckets while Hurt-Floyd connected on a three-pointer and a pull-up jumper in the early going.
• Jailah Pelly paced Arkansas-Pine Bluff with 10 first-half points, going 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Khaniah Gardner added nine points, including an and-one sequence in the second quarter that sparked a pivotal run.
• The Braves were unable to hold their advantage as turnovers proved costly. Alcorn committed 10 first-half turnovers, leading to nine points for UAPB.
• Alcorn shot just 28.6 percent from the field (8-of-28) across the opening 20 minutes and went 1-of-11 from three-point range.
• The Golden Lions seized their biggest lead of the half at seven, 25-18, in the final seconds of the second quarter after Pelly knocked down a pair of free throws with 17 seconds remaining.
• The Golden Lions led by as many as 18 points at 53-35 in the second half but had to hold on as the Lady Braves outscored them 25-11 in the final period.
• UAPB dominated the third quarter, outscoring Alcorn 28-17 to build what appeared to be a comfortable cushion heading into the fourth.
• Jailah Pelly ignited the offense early, converting two fast-break layups off turnovers to push the lead to 11 points just over a minute into the period. Indiya Bowen added a step-back three-pointer on another fast break to extend the advantage to 15, capping a dominant third quarter in which the Golden Lions shot 78.6 percent from the field.
• Kiarra Henderson kept Alcorn afloat in the third with seven points, including a pair of second-chance tip-in layups, while Nakia Cheatham contributed nine points on 7-of-8 free throw shooting for the period.
• In the fourth quarter, the Purple and Gold opened with a Cheatham three-pointer and began chipping away at the deficit behind Henderson
• The No. 2 seed Braves cut the lead to four points twice in the final minute, the last coming on a Cheatham three-pointer off a steal with six seconds remaining that made it 60-63.
• Jasmine Davis sealed the win at the free throw line for Arkansas-Pine Bluff, going 1-of-2 with four seconds left to push the final margin to four.
• The Purple and Gold missed a total of 10 layups in the contest, while missing 12 against UAPB in the regular season finale at home just under a week ago.
 
ALCORN VS. SOUTH ALABAMA SERIES
▪ South Alabama leads the all-time series between the two teams, 6-4.
▪ Alcorn took the first meeting between the sides 87-68 back in the 1987-88 season.
▪ The Braves ended a four-game skid to the Jaguars with a 77-73 win during the 2002-03 campaign.
 
SCOUTING SOUTH ALABAMA
▪ South Alabama is led in scoring by Amyah Sutton with 206 points (11.4 ppg), followed by Cordasia Harris with 183 points (10.2 ppg).
▪ Harris, a transfer from SWAC member Alabama State, tops the Jaguars in rebounding with 159 total (8.8 rpg).
▪ The Jaguars are performing impressi­vely on the national level, ranking in the top-40 in offensive rebounds per game (14.5).
▪ South Alabama has recorded a combined 18 double-doubles this season. Corda­sia Harris has 13, Diawna Carter-Hartley has four and Daniela Gonzalez has one.
▪ Through the first seven games, South Alabama surpassed six of last year's game-highs, includ­ing points (91 comp. to 87), field goals made (36 comp. to 31), three-pointers made (15 comp. to 12), rebounds (55 comp. to 53), assists (26 comp. to 22) and blocked shots (7 comp. to 6).
▪ The Jags welcomed eight newcomers this sea­son with Miyah Holmes, Ronaltha Marc, Chloe Donnell, Amyah Sutton, Cordasia Harris, Tamara Ortiz, Diawna Carter-Hartley and Jeriyah Baines.
 
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