March 8, 2006

Final Stats

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Alabama State rode a strong second half performance against defending Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Alcorn State to a 57-45 win in the opening game of the 2006 SWAC tournament Wednesday morning.

The win puts the Lady Hornets (14-14) into the semifinals, where they will play the winner of Wednesday night's Jackson State-Arkansas-Pine Bluff game at 12:30 p.m. on Friday at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Arena.

Trailing 27-22 early in the second half, senior guard Adria Harris drilled 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to tie the game at 31. From there, ASU never trailed.

"It wasn't a surprise. I knew she was capable," head coach Freda Freeman-Jackson said of Harris' long-rang shooting. "We couldn't get anything going on the inside, so she stepped out and hit some big-time shots."

Shantae Robinson scored a team-high 12 points for the Lady Hornets, including a steal and layup with 2:17 remaining that was part of an 8-0 run that ended the game.

"She (Alcorn State guard Tamika Nunez) kind of put (the ball) in my face so I knew I had to take it," said Robinson, who hit all five of her shots from the field and added four assists.

ASU trailed 23-22 at halftime but Freeman-Jackson knew her team could turn it around.

"We knew we were going to have to do a better job on defense. We did a good job in the first half, holding them to only 23 points," Freeman-Jackson said. "But we had some miscues, were giving up a lot of offensive rebounds, and they were getting to all the loose balls."

Rasaan Powell scored a game-high 21 points for Alcorn State. Latille Ross scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Harris' nine points were a season-high.