The Alabama State women's basketball team had a difficult task at hand with visiting Prairie View A&M coming to the Dunn-Oliver Acadome on Monday night: slowing the Southwestern Athletic Conference's top scorer in Jeanette Jackson.Â
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Jackson, the senior guard, entered averaging a conference-best 17.6 points per contest.Â
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But, the Lady Hornets were prepared as the team used a swarming defense anchored by the tough inside play of junior center
Jasmine Peeples and the active hands from their guards up top to win easily 60-42 to snap a three-game losing skid.Â
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Prairie View A&M, one of the top offensive scoring teams in the SWAC, entered Monday's conference match up averaging 64.6 points per contest.Â
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They were held in check when they entered the Hornets' nest.Â
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Alabama State (13-13, 9-7 SWAC) did not allow the Lady Panthers to score their first points until there was 12:40 remaining in the first half as ASU began with an 18-4 run to start the game.Â
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The lowest point total allowed in a single game this season by a SWAC team was 30 points on two occasions. Alabama State held Grambling to that total on Jan. 3 and again vs. Mobile on Dec. 19.Â
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That total was on watch all night as the low mark was in danger of being reached until late in the contest.Â
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Prairie View (13-15, 10-6 SWAC) did not break the 30-point threshold until there was three minutes left.Â
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The Lady Hornets also held PV without a 3-point field goal as it shot 0-of-9 from long distance.Â
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"I thought my girls did an extremely good job of paying attention to detail and knowing where she [Jackson] was on the floor at all times," said ASU women's basketball coach
Freda Freeman-Jackson. "They broke her down, moved their feet on defense and did not allow her to get anything easy. She just had a tough night. I thought everybody did a great job—it took a team effort to stop her."Â
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Offensively, Lady Hornets' sophomore scoring dynamo
Britney Wright drew contact, consistently got to the free throw line and scored 21 points (5-of-12 from the field, 2-of-4 from 3-point range and 9-of-12 from the charity stripe) to go along with nine rebounds and a blocked shot.Â
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Wright came up with timely hoops throughout the contest.Â
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To close out the first half, she corralled an offensive rebound and went up for a put back just as the buzzer sounded to close the opening half and gave ASU a 30-17 advantage going into the locker room.Â
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Peeples had to contend with guarding 6-foot-4 junior Shamiya Brooks in the post and did a commendable job by registering seven points, 13 rebounds and five blocks in 32 minutes of action.Â
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Senior guard
Tabitha Bradshaw had one of her most productive offensive games of the season, hitting 4-of-8 shots for 10 points—all in the first half—to tie her second highest total in a game this season.Â
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Next, the Lady Hornets will play at Grambling State (9-17, 6-9 SWAC) Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
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