MVSU Regains Share of First Place With Southern
SWAC.org
The SwAC standings continued to be cluttered as the second half of the conference schedule got underway on Monday. Mississippi Valley moved into a first place tie with idle Southern, while Alcorn State, who was also idle, is lurking a game back. Meanwhile, Alabama A&M, Alabama State and Jackson State are in a three-way tie for fourth, followed by Grambling and Prairie View in a deadlock for eighth. Texas Southern and Arkansas-Pine Bluff are sliding off the radar in ninth and tenth.
Mississippi Valley State (10-10, 7-2) 63, Grambling (8-11, 4-5) 55
Itta Bena - Mississippi Valley State moved back into a tie for first place in the SWAC with a win over Grambling. With the win, the Devilettes pulled even with Southern, who was idle on Monday, for the top spot. De'Kisha Fondon led MVSU with 14 points and nine rebounds. Tonieshwa Mack pace Grambling with 13 points and six rebounds, while Markisha Patterson chipped in 11 points. MVSU led 38-27 at halftime. The Devilettes led by as much as 13 in the second half, but Grambling did cut the deficit to six at 58-52 with 2:49 left. But that would be as close as they would get.
Alabama State (8-10, 5-4) 68, Texas Southern (3-16, 2-7) 47
Montgomery - Danielle Gazaway scored a career-high 17 points to lead Alabama State to a win over Texas Southern Monday evening at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome. The Lady Hornets, who won their second straight game, pulled away early in the first half. With the game tied at 12-all, Alabama State went on a 25-6 run to break the game open. The Lady Hornets led by as much as 21 in the first half, 34-13. ASU shot 70 percent in the half en route to a commanding 37-18 halftime lead. The Lady Hornets were all over the court in the first half, grabbing 34 of their 55 rebounds. Alabama State shot over 53 percent from behind the arch in the game. Kierra Paige recorded 13 points for the Lady Hornets, while Ashley Jones ended the game with a double-double, scoring 10 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. Texas Southern had two players in double figures. Gianna Fleming and Janelle McQueen each added 12 for TSU.
Alabama A&M (10-9, 5-4) 55, Prairie View (7-13, 4-5) 53
Huntsville - Late freethrows were just enough for Alabama A&M to slip past Prairie View at Elmore Gym on Monday night. The Lady Bulldogs trailed 21-18 at halftime and was down 43-37 with 7:37 left in the game. A 9-3 run by A&M tied the the game at 46-all with 5:08 left. Jasmine Sanders capped the rally with a layup and freethrow. Nadra Robertson gave A&M the lead with a basket with 4:50 left. Whiquitta Tobar dropped in another bucket with 3:50 left to give A&M a 50-46 lead. PVAM trimmed the deficit down to a point twice, the last time was 54-53 with 28 seconds left. But, after a freethrow with seven seconds left, PVAM fumbled away their last opportunity to tie the game with two seconds remaining.Tobar led the Lady Bulldogs with 20 points, while Sanders tallied 14 points and nine rebounds. Latia williams paced PVAM with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Kiara Etienne chipped in 13 points.
Jackson State (8-10, 5-4) 59, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-20, 0-9) 51
Pine Bluff - A rally by Arkansas-Pine Bluff fell short as Jackson State kept the Lady Lions winless despite a game effort. JSU scored the first 11 points of the game, led by as much as 15 in the first half and held a 32-21 advantage at the half. UAPB made a late rally, cutting the JSU lead to five with 1:27 left at 54-49. The deficit was still five at 56-51 with 44 seconds left, but UAPB would get closer. Tiffany Kellum had 12 points and six rebounds to lead JSU. Beatrice Banks added 11 points and five rebounds, while Daria Hester contributed 10 points and six rebounds. UAPB was led by Chigozi Okwumabua who finished with a game-high 19 points and seven rebounds. JSU shot 50 percent for the game, hitting 22-of-44 shots. Meanwhile, UAPB struggled, hitting only .262 from the field (16-for-61)
Saturday's SWAC Women's Schedule
Alabama State at Mississippi Valley State / 2:00
Alcorn State at Jackson State / 3:00
Southern at Grambling / 3:00
Alabama A&M at Arkansas-Pine Bluff / 5:00
Texas Southern at Prairie View / 5:00
Monday's SWAC Women's Schedule (Feb. 6)
Alabama State at Arkansas-Pine Bluff / 5:30
Alcorn State at Grambling / 5:30
Alabama A&M at Mississippi Valley State / 5:30
Southern at Jackson State / 5:30
Tuesday's SWAC Women's Schedule (Feb. 7)
Texas Southern at Houston Baptist / 7:00