Box Score In the opening round of the WNIT Alabama State women's basketball dropped a 65-44 heartbreaker to host team Southern Miss. on Friday afternoon in Hattiesburg, Miss.
 
The game started off really sluggish for both teams with no one making a bucket.  There are still 20-minute halves, but those halves have been cut to 10 minute quarters and both teams are still making the adjustments.  At the end of the first quarter both teams were knotted at nine apiece.
 
The second quarter had a lot more spark to it as the Lady Hornets went into the locker room with a small 26-22 lead.  On the hot hand of Kayla Tucker led all of the Lady Hornets in scoring with nine points, pushed Alabama State to an eight point lead (24-16).
 
A back and forth scoring barrage took place in the last three minutes of the second quarter with ASU holding onto the lead.  Brittany Dinkins of the Lady Eagles took the last shot to cut the lead to four ending the first half of the game.
 
The 24 turnovers were costly for the Lady Hornets, but Southern Miss had 10 of their own.  The field goal percentage for both teams was under 40 percent.  The Lady Eagles were 9-17 from the charity stripe.  ASU was 11-20 from the free throw line shooting 55 percent.
 
The momentum of the second half and the beginning of the third quarter was a rude awakening for the Lady Hornets as they could not score one basket seeing the final tie of the game at 29-29 with 7:17 still left to play in the quarter.  Southern Miss scored 12 points off of the Lady Hornets five turnovers.  The Lady Eagles took a 14 point lead into the fourth and final quarter of the game.
 
The Lady Hornets never regained their momentum and Southern Miss. stayed in control for the remainder of the game advancing their lead to at least 25 points.  Alabama State was able to close out on two free throws by senior Ashanti Spencer cutting the score to a 21-point lead by the Lady Eagles.
 
"We didn't make plays when we needed to," Head Coach Freda Freeman-Jackson stated.  "In a tournament it's, very important that you make plays defensively and also offensively.  Although we played pretty good in the first half we didn't continue to execute and play our game like we should have.  We started fouling a little too much and not getting the rebounds."
 
Southern Miss. had four player in double digits Keri Giles-Jewett led all scorers with 19 points before exiting the game with a cramp.  She also had 10 steals and eight rebounds to add to her numbers.  Freshman Caitlin Jenkins who entered the game early in the third quarter for the first time scored 14 points, had three blocks and three rebounds.  Jayla King and Dinkins both had 10 points apiece.  King also had eight rebounds.    
 
Alabama State was led in rebounding by Jasmine Peeples who had eight, while adding five blocks to her 129 giving her a total of 134 career blocks closing in on the number four career blocker leader Crystal Kitt who had 167.  Peeples also had seven points.
 
The Lady Hornet will take off for a week and return to the court to play their next opponent in the WNIT next Friday.  Times and place are still to be determined.