Britney Wright recorded a game-high 22 points and nine rebounds, but it was not enough as Alabama State came up short on the road falling to Jackson State in an overtime nail biter, 70-69 in the inaugural 2016 game of women's SWAC play. Nearly defeating JSU, the ASU Lady Hornets just could not create an opportunity to score and win the game, in the remaining seconds of overtime.
"I thought that we had better control of the ball and then we started getting tight and not executing the offensive end nor on the defensive end," stated Woman's Head Coach Freda Freeman-Jackson. "We didn't get the stops that we needed to get the win."
In overtime, ASU unsuccessfully could not score a basket from the field, but drew fouls earning points at the free-throw line making 7 of 8. ASU matched JSU point for point in the additional quarter the lone miss free-throw proved to be costly.
"If we are not scoring we must make sure that we play extremely well on defense," said Freeman-Jackson "We were only down by two points Ashanti (Spencer) was tired and ended up fouling the girl instead of playing some solid defense. We must stay focused an play solid all the way through."
With the game tied at 62 all and 2.1 seconds left in the game Spencer almost connected on a contested potential game winning 3-pointer at the end of regulation.
In the third quarter ASU continued offensive outpour from first half producing 21 points in the quarter, as a result of a 15-4 run in which Spencer notably scoured JSU's 2-3 zone defense scoring three consecutive 3-pointers.
However, in the second half the Lady Hornets' defense surrendered 17 points in each quarter and sent JSU to the free-throw line 17 times (40 times in the entire game) which permitted the Tigers to rally back.
"Coming into the second half I thought we got three or four big stops in a row and that's how we built the lead. From there JP (Jasmine Peeples) ended up getting in foul trouble and that cost us some problems," said Freeman-Jackson.
The Lady Hornets' surged offensively in the second quarter scoring 22 points to take the lead and go into halftime up 31-28.
In the opening three minutes of the second quarter the ASU's stinging offense went on a 10-2 lead by sharpshooter Danielle Clark connecting two 3-pointers after, trailing 20-9 at the end of the first quarter.
ASU's defense limited JSU to just eight points, while shooting a bleak 28.6% from the field in the second quarter.
The Lady Hornets had an inspiring showing with four players in double scoring digits with Wright's 22 point lead, while Daniele Ewert, Kayla Stephens and Spencer added 10 points each.
ASU impressively shot 50% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc in the second half. This will be the key to winning the game at Grambling.
"We are going to have to make plays down the stretch. We are going to have to be disciplined and fight," said Freeman-Jackson.
The Lady Hornets will not have long before they are back on the court as they will travel to Grambling, La. to face Grambling State Monday Jan. 4 for a 5:30 C.T. SWAC match-up at the Frederick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
#WHOOPS#
