HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Both teams had the opportunity to improve their seeding for the SWAC Tournament with a win on Friday.

Both came through.

With Alabama State defeating Alabama A&M 9-0 and Texas Southern holding off Prairie View A&M 2-0, each team solidified their spot and set up a Texas-sized rematch between the schools for the opening round. 

Alabama State (7-10-1 overall, 7-3 SWAC) moved past Howard for the No. 3 seed as its' tie-breaking win over Lady Bison in an earlier 1-0 head-to-head victory proved to be the difference.

With Texas Southern knocking off Prairie View, it put the Lady Tigers ahead of the Lady Panthers by one game for the No. 6 seed. 

So, now it will be ASU and TSU in an opening round match up in the SWAC Tournament on Thursday at 3 p.m. in Huntsville at the John Hunt Complex.

The winner will play the winner of No. 2 Jackson State and No. 7 Prairie View A&M on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in a semifinal.

The winner of that match will advance to Sunday's championship match at 11 a.m.

Texas Southern (8-10 overall, 6-4 SWAC) has recent history on its side as the Lady Tigers were able to defeat ASU 6-1 in Montgomery on Oct. 23.

Texas Southern ranks toward the middle of the conference in both goals per game and goals allowed per game. 

In SWAC only matches, the Lady Tigers are ranked tied for third in goals, averaging three per match, and are ranked fifth in goals allowed with 1.30 allowed per match. 

Striker Marlyn Campa remains one of the conference's deadliest scorers as she ranks in the top 10 in the SWAC for several categories including points with 24. 

She has 10 goals and four assists on the season and scored twice in the earlier meeting against ASU. 

On the Lady Hornets' radar should also be Kailand Thompson, who scored twice in the match. 

The Lady Hornets did strike first in the prior matchup when Aaliyah Lewis got ASU on the board in the ninth minute off a feed from Emily Fleming.

Maintaining focus throughout the match is likely to be a key for ASU as the team has shown its ability to be competitive with every team in the SWAC. 

Since their defeat to TSU, Alabama State has outscored opponents 12-2 in their two wins over Prairie View A&M and Alabama A&M. 

In SWAC only contests, the Lady Hornets rank second in the conference in goals per match with 3.40 and have allowed 1.50 goals per match, good for sixth in the conference.

The Lewis sisters, Aaliyah and Ariela, both remain hot with 19 points apiece in SWAC competition. 

"We're going to have to play better defense and keep our focus," said ASU head coach Jodie Smith. 

"I think we were in that last match [with Texas Southern].  We just need to finish our opportunities.  We like our opportunity.  And, as I've said before, this is wide open . We've beat Jackson State and Howard. [Two of the top teams in the tournament].  So I think there are probably four or five teams who have a good chance to win it.  Now, we've played two games since we had all the injuries in the TSU match so players should be more aware and are expected to play.   We've got a lot of good energy right now.  We know what to expect at this point."  

Leaders

Alabama State: Aaliyah Lewis (nine goals), Ariela Lewis (10 assists), Ar. Lewis (26 points), Gianna Guyot (104 saves).

Texas Southern: Marlyn Campa (10 goals); Paige Hayward (five assists); Campa (24 points); Liliana Hernandez (34 saves).

                                                                                                        #GOHORNETS#