Jan. 23, 2006

Final Stats

BATON ROUGE, La. - Ahead 20-5 in the first half, it looked as if Southern was going to make Alabama State its eighth consecutive victim in Southwestern Athletic Conference play.

But the Lady Hornets were able to regain their composure, used a hot start to the second half, and ultimately pulled away to a 57-51 win at Felton G. Clark Activity Center.

"It's so tough to get a win on the road, especially with a young team," ASU head coach Freda Freeman-Jackson said. "To be the first team to beat them is great."

Sophomore forward Latille Ross led the way with 16 points and nine rebounds and sophomore guard Shantae Robinson added 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Lady Hornets (6-9, 4-3), who won for the third time in four games.

Southern's Rolanda Monroe scored a team-high 15 for the Lady Jaguars (10-7, 7-1), but she wasn't able to put on her usual dominant performance thanks to the defensive work of senior guard Frantina Coleman.

"She's a tough cookie to guard, but everyone knows we have the other No. 11," Freeman-Jackson said, referring to the shared jersey number of Coleman and Monroe. "I told her that we couldn't stop her, but you need to contain her and she did a good job."

The Lady Jags were in total control of the game through the first 10 minutes, scoring the first seven points and bursting out to a 15-point advantage. Freeman-Jackson tried several different lineups, to no avail, as the Lady Hornets committed 11 fouls and missed 13 of their first 15 field goal attempts.

Obviously, Freeman-Jackson wasn't happy.

"I told them they were making a spectacle of themselves. I knew we were better than what we were exhibiting," Freeman-Jackson said. "But they stepped up and made some big shots. And Shantae stepped up big."

Robinson began forcing the offensive tempo, taking the ball to the hole and creating easier opportunities for the ASU offense. The Lady Hornets would close to within five before going to the locker room down 31-22.

That deficit was gone two minutes into the second half as the Lady Hornets forced five missed shots in five possessions by Southern to start the half.

The Lady Jaguars would quickly jump back in front on back-to-back 3-pointers by Monroe and Ciara Shiggs, but Bama State continued to battle, eventually taking the lead for good with just over three minutes remaining.