Feb. 2, 2010

Prairie View 69, Alabama State 50

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -Prairie View A&M used a strong second half surge to capture a 69-50 women's basketball victory over Alabama State University Monday afternoon at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome.

Alabama State (7-11, 4-5 SWAC) was outscored 40-27 by Prairie View (11-7, 8-1) over the final half as the league-leading Lady Panthers rebounded from their first loss of the season on Saturday night.

Freshman Erica Henderson came off the bench to lead the Lady Hornets with 15 points. Henderson, who made three of five three-point attempts, was the lone ASU player in double digits. Senior Shanice Merritt chipped in nine points and hauled in a team-best seven rebounds while also blocking five shots.

Latara Darrett posted a double-double to lead PVAM finishing with 23 points and 16 rebounds while teammate Candice Thomas added 17 points.

The game started sluggishly for both teams on offense with neither team collecting a field goal through the first four minutes of play. The Lady Panthers finally snapped the drought when Darrett hit a jumper with 15:27 on the clock giving PVAM a 5-3 advantage.

In a battle of runs, the Lady Panthers put together a 9-0 run to push their lead, 16-9, with under 10 minutes left to play followed by another 6-0 run for the Lady Hornets that trimmed the margin to just one, 16-15, with 7:42 remaining.

Six straight points by Thomas moved Prairie View back in front by seven, but back-to-back treys from ASU's Erica Henderson halted the run. The Lady Panthers closed the opening half on a 7-2 run for a 29-23 halftime lead.

Midway through the second period, Prairie View began to slowly build a lead. The Lady Panthers used a 10-0 spurt capped by a Darrett trey with 9:37 left to seize their first double-digit advantage. ASU was not able to get closer than eight points down the stretch as Prairie View continued to widen its margin over the closing minutes.

Texas Southern 56, Alabama A&M 55

Huntsville, Ala. - Texas Southern edged by Alabama A&M 56-55 to pick up a key road win.

For Texas Southern, Sierra Highgate led her team with a game-high 22 points and seven boards. Trikeyia East tallied 10 points and pulled down seven off the glass.

The Bulldogs were led by Whiquitta Tobar's team-high 18 points. Katrich williams had 16 points and three boards in 39 minutes of action. The Bulldogs are back in action on Feb. 6 when they travel to face Arkansas-Pine Bluff for a 5:30 pm tip.

In the first half, A&M scored the first points of the game behind a gabrielle williams's jumper at the 18:15 mark. The Bulldogs kept the advantage for the entire first 20 for an 18-15 margin at the half. Texas Southern led by as many as 11 with just under four minutes to play in the second 20.

A G. Williams layup at the 3:33 mark sparked a 13-4 run to cut it to 53-51 with just under a minute left in regulation. The Bulldogs, however, were unable to take the advantage. A&M had a chance at the win, but Chelsea Marshall's three point attempt was unsuccessful.

Miss. Valley State 60, Grambling 51

ITTA BENA, Miss. - Mississippi Valley State completed a sweep of their weekend home stand with a 60-51 win over Grambling State.

Ashley Brown led the Deta Devillettes (6-14, 3-6) with 21 points. Aspen Clemons added seven points and seven rebounds.

Secret Anderson led GSU (6-12, 3-6) with 14 points and eight rebounds. Kristen Harper also scored 12 points.

The game was tight throughout the first half with five ties and eight lead changes. Grambling State held a slim 25-24 lead at halftime.

The Tigers would build a 10 point advantage in the second half before MVSU would mount their rally. For an eight minute stretch, Valley held GSU to only two field goals during a 15-5 run to tie the game with five minutes remaining.

Ashley Brown drained a three pointer to give Valley the lead, and the Delta Devillettes would sink five of six free throw attempts to pick up the win.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff 65, Jackson State 46

PINE BLUFF, Ark. - After a tight first half, Arkansas-Pine Bluff pulled away for an impressive win over Jackson State.

Shay Holmes' 11 points led a balanced attack for UAPB (4-15, 3-6). Jasmine Blanks and Laquisha Slaton each added 9 points.

Tiffany Haggen paced JSU (2-17, 1-8) wth 13 points and seven reounds. Mar'chetta Parker chipped in 9 points

After holding a two-point lead at halftime, UAPB slowly built a 10-point lead at the 11 minute mark. That margin swelled 16 on Blank's layup with 7:36 left in the game. The Golden Lions' lead would grow to as much as 22 as the coasted to the win.