Nov. 24, 2006

Final Stats

The Alabama State Lady Hornets shook off a sluggish first half to post an impressive 53-46 victory over Tuskegee Friday night at the Joe L. Reed Acadome.

ASU started slow and was down by 10 at halftime. After scoring only 16 points and shooting only 34% in the first half, the Lady Hornets' offense clicked. In the second half they shot for 62% and 37 points.

"I guess I should have expected a bad start," Freda Freeman-Jackson said. "We have so many young players. I believe they were a bit nervous with such a big crowd.

"We were able to regroup at halftime and get back to running the offense and getting good shots."

Senior center Danielle Sanders and two freshmen - Asssunta Fulgham and Jasmon Hazley - led ASU with nine points each, but the game clearly was dominated by Shantae Robinson.

The Lady Hornets' junior point guard dished out 10 assists while scoring eight points of her own.

"It was a great game for us," Robinson said. "I'm getting used to the younger players, and they are getting used to me.

"Still, I'm ready for L'Teisha (Hollaway) to be back....now!" While Hollaway recuperates from a broken thumb, Freda Freeman-Jackson will be counting on Robinson even more than ever, especially with eight freshmen and a transfer on the roster.

"You can really tell L'Teisha wasn't in there," Freeman-Jackson said. "We miss her scoring, but we also miss her aggressiveness - diving on the floor, fighting for loose ball, all the little things she does. Those are things that win ballgames and we'll have to find that somewhere else until she comes back."

The Lady Hornets may have lost another player to injury. Essence Butler, who came into the game as their leading scorer, left early with an apparent knee injury.

"It could be pretty serious, but we are praying that it's not too bad," Freeman-Jackson said.

The Lady Hornets (2-1) will get about a week of rest before hosting Stillman College on December 2. Aisha Johnson led the Tigerettes (0-1) with 14 points. Nadia Jones had 10.