MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama State University found themselves down by as many as eight in the third quarter, but rallied behind Daniele Ewert and Britney Wright to rebound from a tough Saturday loss, with a 71-57 victory over Mississippi Valley State University Monday night at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome.
 
"That was a tough ball game," Alabama State University head coach Freda Freeman-Jackson said. "It was a really physical game, and I thought our girls came out and could have played harder in the first half. The second half, however, we did a much better job but we are still having problems in the second quarter. We have to learn that if we are in a drought offensively, that we are going to have to get stops on the defensive end and that is something that we are going to work hard on this week."
 
Wright finished with a game-high 21 points, including hitting all eight of her free throws (including six straight down the stretch) and recorded six rebounds and three steals. Meanwhile, Ewert finished with 20 points and nine rebounds – including scoring seven of the first 10 points of the night for Alabama State (9-12, 8-3 SWAC).
 
"I think we played hard," Ewert said. "We keep working hard, and I had in my mind tonight that I was going to play hard and not be a finesse player. I came out and did the little things like taking charges, guarding one of the best players in the conference and the hard work showed. It was a good feeling."
 
The Lady Hornets found themselves down 32-24 after a sluggish second quarter in which they were outscored 20-5; however, they turned up the pressure and outscored 22-16 Mississippi Valley State over the final eight minutes of the third quarter to pull within a point at 48-47 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
From there, Alabama State took over as they took a 51-49 lead with 8:33 remaining in the contest on a Tatyana Calhoun basket and never surrendered the lead. The Lady Hornets would go on a 13-3 run over a span of three minutes to extend the lead to 58-51, before hitting free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
 
"The first half was not our style of basketball," Jackson said. "We were able to pick up the tempo in the second half. We got some steals and were able to get some easy baskets in transition instead of playing half-court basketball."
 
Ziara Doe and Shamyiah Smith each finished the night with 11 points for the Lady Hornets who shot 33.9 (19-of-56) percent from the floor, including 26.3 (5-of-19) percent from beyond the arc. They also finished the night shooting 87.5 (28-of-32) percent from the free throw line.
 
Kristy Parker led Mississippi Valley State (9-13, 6-5 SWAC) with 17 points, while Kenya Hailey finished with 15 points. Ashley Beals added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Devilettes.
 
Alabama State returns to action Saturday as they host Alabama A&M University at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome. Tip-off is set for 3:00 pm.
 
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