BIRMINGHAM – Alabama State University and Mississippi Valley State split a pair of regular-season games this year, each winning on its home court. But Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference women's basketball tournament, the Delta Devilettes posted a hard-earned 48-43 win at Fair Park Arena.

The loss ended Bama State's season with a 14-16 record.

Tanika Jackson came off the bench to lead ASU's offense. She finished with 11 points – the only ASU player in double figures as the Lady Hornets shot just 29 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers that turned into 17 MVSU points.

The beginning was an ominous sign for the Lady Hornets as they missed their first six shots and turned the ball over four times before scoring their first points of the game.

Mississippi Valley , though, was unable to take full advantage as ASU erased an early deficit and tied the game at 13 on a L'Teisha Holloway basket with 6:23 remaining in the first half. From there, the Delta Devilettes closed the half on a 10-4 run to go into the locker room with a 23-17 advantage.

Things began to look much worse for ASU in the second half. With 4:22 left in the game, Bama State trailed 43-33. But the Lady Hornets scored on their next four possessions to cut the MVSU lead to two points with just over a minute to play. After the teams traded baskets and Mississippi Valley missed one of two free throws, the Lady Hornets had one final chance to tie the score. Unable to get a good 3-point shot attempt, the Lady Hornets pushed the ball inside to Shanice Merritt, who missed a layup.

Merritt finished with eight points and six rebounds while Erica Lumpkin had seven points and seven rebounds for the Lady Hornets.