Box Score MONTGOMERY—Taila Arrington only scored three points, but they were all important as they turned out to be the winning points as she hit two free throws to break a 62-all tie with 43 seconds left.  She added an extra one with 11 seconds to give the Lady Hornets of Alabama State University (5-7/2-1 SWAC) a come-from behind 65-62 win over Mississippi Valley State University (5-8/1-1 SWAC) in women's Southwestern Athletic Conference basketball action.
 
ASU trailed the entire game until Arrington's two free throws and she sealed the win with a steal with four seconds left to deliver the win for the Lady Hornets.
 
The Lady Hornets trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and trailed 38-28 at half.  ASU came out after the break and outscored MVSU 12-7 in the first five minutes of the second half to cut the lead to 45-40.
 
Alia Frank scored on a put back basket with 5:55 left in the game to push MVSU's lead back out to nine at 62-53, but that would be the final points MVSU would score as the Lady Hornets defense picked up their intensity and held the visitors scoreless the rest of the way while scoring 12 consecutive points.
 
Ashley Jones helped pull ASU even at 62 when she scored a basket with 1:12 left in the game and added a free throw nine seconds later, to lead up to Arrington's final heroics.
 
“I told the girls at halftime we were not going to be able to get 10 points back at one time we needed to take one possession at a time and we had to get multiple stops,” head coach Freda Freeman-Jackson.  “I thought that is what we did.  We stopped turning the ball over, played solid defense, got ourselves back in the ball game and we knocked down free throws when we needed to.”
 
Tamara Wadlington scored 12 points to lead a balanced ASU scoring attack.  Kierra Paige added 11 while Ashley Jones, Durriya Shields and Danielle Gazaway added seven points each.  Brittney Howard had a game-high 10 rebounds as ASU out rebounded MVSU 38-35.
 
“I am really proud of these young ladies winning two SWAC games in a row,” Freeman-Jackson said.  “This might be something that is going to catch on.”
 
Frank led MVSU in scoring with a game-high 13 points and Brittney Lakes and Lenise Stallings added 10 points each.
 
The game did not begin very well for the Lady Hornets as MVSU jumped out to an 11-0 lead as all five MVSU starters had scored.  In the meantime ASU was oh-for-five from the field and had turned the ball over 10 times.
 
Wadlington scored the first points for ASU on two free throws at the 15:10 mark, but it was not until the 11 minute mark that ASU scored their first basket, a three pointer from Paige.  From there the Lady Hornets begin to cut into the lead and when Paige hit her second three of the first half, ASU only trailed 25-20 with 4:07 left before halftime.
 
From there MVSU turned up the defense and outscored ASU 13-8 to close out the half and went into the locker room with a 38-28 lead.
 
The Lady Hornets will be back in action Monday when they host the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 5:30 p.m.