MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama State University women's basketball team wrapped up home court advantage for the opening round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Tournament, with a 74-61 victory over Prairie View A&M University Monday night at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome.
 
"It feels extremely rewarding," Alabama State women's basketball coach Freda Freeman-Lewis said about clinching home court for next week's SWAC Tournament. "We struggled in SWAC play and I never thought that coming into the season that we would lose three home SWAC games. But things happen and tonight we were able to secure a spot to host a tournament game. We know it's going to be a tough road ahead of us and we need to take care of business on Tuesday and get to Texas where anything can happen."
 
With two games remaining on the schedule, the worst Alabama State (12-14, 11-5 SWAC) can finish is with seven losses which would put them in a tie with Alcorn State – a team Alabama State swept in the regular season. The Lady Hornets can finish no lower than fourth in the conference standings, and still have an outside shot at a top two seed with some help.
 
Britney Wright celebrated Senior Day for Alabama State with a career-high 35 points on 14-of-27 shooting from the floor, en route to becoming the school's second-leading scorer for her career. Wright grabbed 13 rebounds on the night, recording another double-double for her career.
 
The senior stands at 1,746 career points for her career, while also grabbing 866 career rebounds for the Lady Hornets in 119 career games.
 
"That is one way to finish up the season, Freeman-Lewis said about the play of Wright. "She was really determined tonight after our loss on Saturday to Texas Southern. I am really proud of Britney Wright and the other seniors."
 
Alabama State and Prairie View A&M (11-17, 6-10 SWAC) battled throughout the first half until the Lady Hornets were able to pull away early in the second half. Wright came out of the locker room for the Lady Hornets and scored the first seven points of the half to put Alabama State up by seven at 47-40; however, Prairie View A&M fought back to within a point at 47-46 with 5:36 to play in the third quarter.
 
The Lady Hornets closed out the third quarter on a 10-2 run over the final five minutes, holding Prairie View A&M without a field goal during the run. The run was extended to 14-3 in the fourth quarter as Alabama State extended the lead to 61-49 with 8:19 to play in the game. Prairie View A&M was able to pull within eight at 68-60 with 2:27 to play, but a pair of seniors – Wright and Damya Toney – scored six consecutive points to push the lead to 73-60 with just 38 seconds to play.
 
Alabama State finished the night shooting 45.9 (28-of-61) percent from the floor and 26.3 (5-of-19) percent from beyond the arc, while shooting 76.5 (13-of-17) percent from the free throw line. The three seniors, who were celebrated along with Wright – Toney, Danielle Clark and Daniele Ewert combined for 18 points in the final regular season home game, giving the seniors 53 combined points as a collective group.
 
Alexus Parker led Prairie View A&M with 25 points in the loss.
 
Alabama State will hit the road to face Grambling State on Thursday, before facing Jackson State to close out the regular season on Saturday. The team will return home on March 7 to host a first round SWAC Tournament game, with tip set for 5:30 pm.
 
For more information on Alabama State University athletics, follow us on Twitter @BamaStateSports and like us on Facebook. For more information on Alabama State University women's basketball, follow us on Twitter @BamaStateWBB.