LORMAN, Miss. – Britney Wright and Damya Toney sank free throws in the final 17 seconds as the Alabama State University women's basketball team held off a late Alcorn State run in a 62-56 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) victory on Saturday at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
 
"This was a tough game for us, but we found a way to win," Alabama State head coach Freda Freeman-Jackson said as the Lady Hornets have won three straight and four out of their last five games. "I keep telling my ladies that champions find a way to win, no matter what the circumstances are, you find a way to win and that's what we did today."
 
Wright paced Alabama State with 25 points on 9-of-19 shooting and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line. She now has 1,684 career points and is just 38 away from second all time in the Alabama State record book. Also, Wright hauled down five rebounds and is just 22 shy away from fourth all time.
 
Danielle Clark added 11 points, including three 3-pointers as the Lady Hornets shot 40.4 percent (19-of-47) and 70 percent (21-of-30) from the charity stripe. Toney finished with nine points, including 7-of-7 from the free-throw line, Daniele Ewert recorded a team-high 10 rebounds and dished out five assists.
 
"I thought Clark and Toney stepped up today," Freeman-Jackson said. "Toney stepped up and made free throws when we needed them and Clark hit a back-to-back threes that really gave us the momentum we needed."
 
Alabama State (11-12 overall, 10-3 SWAC) raced out to an 8-0 lead to begin the game as the Lady Hornets got buckets by Danielle Clark and Tatyana Calhoun during the run, while holding Alcorn State without a field goal for the first 3:20.
 
The Lady Braves (8-17, 8-6) responded with a 12-2 run over the next two and a half minutes, capped by a 3-pointer by Brianna Luton to grab a 12-10 advantage with 4:18 left in the opening stanza.
 
The Lady Hornets took a 16-13 lead after a Wright layup with 9:51 remaining in the first half. Alcorn State used a short 5-0 run to grab the advantage at 18-16 after baskets by Alexus Freeman, Miracle Rushing and Tori Spann with 6:43 left.
 
Alabama State quickly answered and used a 9-1 run over the next two minutes to grab a 25-19 advantage after a Wright layup with 4:07 left.
 
In the final four minutes of the first half, neither team had a lead larger than four points as Alcorn State trimmed the margin to 32-29 at the break.
 
The Lady Hornets extended the advantage to 43-35 after a pair of Wright free throws with 2:13 left in the third and took a 43-37 lead into the final period.
 
Alabama State used a 10-2 run in the final quarter to grab its biggest lead of the day, 53-39, with 5:53 remaining. Alcorn State used a 17-9 run over the final five minutes, but it wasn't enough as Wright and Toney sealed the win at the foul line.
 
Freeman registered 13 points, seven boards and two assists to lead Alcorn State. Rushing finished with a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds, while Tori Spann chipped in with 10 points. The Lady Braves shot 26.1 percent (18-of-69) from the floor and 65.4 percent (17-of-26) from the free-throw line.
 
Alabama State returns to action at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb 20 in Baton Rouge, La., against Southern. In the previous matchup this season, the Lady Hornets got 35 points from Britney Wright in a 75-70 victory over the Lady Jaguars on Jan. 23.
 
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