ITTA BENA, Miss. | With three attempts to tie or take the lead in the waning seconds, Alabama State was unable to connect on a basket and ultimately fell short, 64-62, to Mississippi Valley State on Monday night in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) action.
 
Jayla Crawford led all players on the floor with 19 points and four rebounds, while Shmya Ward finished with her second consecutive double-double, recording 11 points and 11 rebounds. Ayana Emmanuel chipped in 13 points and four rebounds in the loss.
 
With both teams tied at the half, the Devilettes (3-11, 2-1 SWAC) opened the third quarter on an 11-2 run. Alabama State (3-12, 2-2 SWAC) would answer back with a three-pointer by Emmanuel and layup by Ward to get within two (37-35), but MVSU was able to hold off the Lady Hornets to take a 49-44 advantage going into the final stanza.
 
MVSU pushed the margin to 58-48 after two free throws by Kristy Parker with just under five minutes left, but the Lady Hornets refused to go away quietly and closed the gap to 64-62 after two key free throws from Emmanuel with 1:20 left to play.
 
The Devilettes sealed the game after Alabama State was unable to convert down the stretch.
 
Alabama State finished the night shooting 38.6 (22-of-57) percent from the floor, and also hit on 42.9 (9-of-21) percent from beyond the arc. They also hit on just 64.3 (9-of-14) percent from the free throw line.
 
Erin Smith led MVSU with 15 points, while Bassett tallied 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Makayla Bonner chipped in 11 points and three rebounds for the Devilettes, who finished the night shooting 40 (20-of-50) percent from the floor and 36.4 (8-of-22) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 64 (16-of-25) percent from the free throw line in the win.
  
Inside the Numbers
Turnovers cost Alabama State throughout the game as the Devilettes turned 27 Lady Hornet miscues into 21 points.
 
Alabama State hauled in 47 rebounds, while MVSU finished with 25.

The Lady Hornets tallied 20 points in the paint, 23 bench points, 12 second-chance points, 10 points off 14 Devilette turnovers and eight fast break points.
 
The score was tied twice and the lead changed 11 times.
 
QUOTABLES - Head Coach Freda Freeman-Jackson
General thoughts on tonight: "We had three attempts in the last seconds, but we shouldn't have even been in that situation. We should've been in the game the whole time, it might've worked against UAPB Saturday, but today we fell short."

On MVSU run: "It is mental, you have to be able to endure, especially on the road. The amount of turnovers tells me that we were not executing and doing the things that we need to do. We will have some growing pains, but I think we will get there."

On Alabama A&M: "There's not much to tell them going into that game, they know A&M is a big rival and they have to have pride. My staff and I will get them ready for that challenge this week."
 
NEXT UP
Alabama State continues its road swing, playing in Birmingham on Saturday against Alabama A&M.
The game takes places at Bill Harris Arena where tickets are available at $15 for general admission and $20 for premium (reserved) seating.
 
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