HUNTSVILLE, Ala. | Alabama State avenged an earlier season defeat, walking away with a 55-44 win at rival Alabama A&M Saturday afternoon at the T.M. Elmore Gymnasium in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) contest.
The victory was Alabama State's third in its last four meetings with the Bulldogs after splitting the series this season.
"It was a great win for us, my girls understand the importance of playing defense," Alabama State head coach Freda-Freeman Jackson said. "They stayed the course, moved the ball around and did what we needed to do on the offensive end for us to the prevail and I couldn't be more proud."
Tatyana Calhoun led Alabama State (7-16, 5-7 SWAC) with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor and 80.0 (4-of-5) percent shooting from the charity stripe.
Areleatha Gipson,
Victoria Harvey and
Courtney Lee each scored eight points. while Harvey chipped in seven rebiounds.
Shamyiah Smith also added seven points and six rebounds, while
Kenya Pye contributed with four points and six rebounds in the victory.
After trailing 13-10 at the end of the first quarter, the teams traded baskets before Alabama A&M (9-14, 4-8 SWAC) was able to create separation with a 3-point basket to go up 26-19. Though narrowly outscored in the second quarter, the Bulldogs held a 26-21 advantage going into the halftime break.
Alabama State began the third quarter on a 7-2 run, led by Calhoun who scored all her points in the second half, to briefly claim the lead at 35-32 with 6:19 remaining in the frame. The advantage would swing back and forth a few times over the course of the next few minutes before the two teams ended the third quarter tied at 38-38.
Alabama State took over the contest in the fourth, as the Lady Hornets made their first two baskets to open the stanza. Harvey ignited Elmore Gymnasium with a blocked shot and a bucket by
Kenya Pye in transition to give Alabama State a 46-40 lead, which forced Alabama A&M to call a timeout. The Lady Hornets continued to find ways to score and opened up a 51-44 lead in which the Bulldogs could not recover.
The Lady Hornets finished the night shooting 43.1 (22-of-51) percent from the floor and 68.8 (11-of-16) percent from the free throw line, and winning the rebounding battle 41-32.
Ashlyn Dotson finished with 15 points, while Kanisha Tharpe had eight. Alabama A&M shot 29.6 (16-of-54) percent from the floor and 15.4 (2-of-13) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 58.8 (10-of-17) percent from the free throw line.
Alabama State will return to action Saturday when they return home to host Southern University. Tip is set for 3:00 pm and will be carried on the Hornets Sports Network with pregame beginning at 2:45 pm.
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