March 4, 2006

Final Stats

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - With the No. 4 seed in the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament already locked away, Alabama State had hoped to send its seniors out with a bang while also blowing up Jackson State's regular-season championship hopes.

Instead, the Lady Tigers played like serious title contenders while the Lady Hornets couldn't get it going in a 76-56 final that gave JSU a share of the regular season championship and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming SWAC tournament.

Head coach Freda Freeman-Jackson started the five eldest members of her team - seniors Rhonda Brown, Adria Harris, Frantina Coleman and Nedra Thomas, and redshirt junior Elma Stevenson - in hopes of using the Senior Day excitement to propel the Lady Hornets to a good start.

Unfortunately, it was Jackson State that came out of the blocks smoking. The Lady Tigers started the game on a 19-3 run and never looked back.

"We came out flat," Freeman-Jackson said. "I think our seniors were too hyped and weren't able to get comfortable in the game. We fell into a big hole and never got into a good rhythm. They had good intentions, they just weren't able to capitalize."

The Lady Hornets trailed 42-23 at halftime and trailed by as many as 26 in the second half.

The five starters struggled, going only 5-of-17 from the field and scoring 16 points. But even the young players had some difficulties. Sophomores Latille Ross and Shantae Robinson, the team's top two scorers, went 2-of-15 from the field, scored seven points and made 10 turnovers.

Still, freshman L'Teisha Holloway gave the Lady Hornets some hope for the upcoming tournament. Her 23 points led all scorers and gave Freeman-Jackson a silver lining in what was mostly a gloomy Senior Day for Bama State.

"I thought it was important for our younger players to get some exposure against the No. 1 team. Hopefully, they'll know what to expect of themselves if they want to win the SWAC championship."