MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Alabama State extended their winning streak to three and snapped Southern's six-game winning streak as they defeated the Jaguars 78-61 in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) action on Monday night inside of Dunn-Oliver Acadome.
 
Freshman forward Shmya Ward paved the way for Alabama State (6-12, 5-2 SWAC) with a career-high 19 points. She reached this mark on 7-of-8 shooting from the field while also collecting eight rebounds. Ward was joined in double figures by Jayla Crawford with 17 points and Ayana Emmanuel with 13 points and seven rebounds.
 
Skylar O'Bear and Brittany Rose led the way offensively for Southern (8-10, 5-2 SWAC), scoring 11 points each, while Rose added seven rebounds. Taneara Moore hauled in five rebounds for the Jaguars, who shot 28.6 (18-of-63) percent from the floor and 16.7 (4-of-24) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 67.7 (21-of-31) percent from the free throw line in the loss. 
 
Alabama State led for 38:02 of the game's 40 minutes, trailed by two just once (14-12), and held Southern to a conference-low shooting percentage during the lopsided victory. After taking a 41-28 lead at the half, the Lady Hornets led by double digits for the final two quarters en route knocking off top-seed Southern.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Lady Hornets finished the night shooting 48.0 (24-of-50) percent from the floor and 50 (5-of-10) percent from beyond the arc, while also shooting 64.1 (25-of-39) percent from the free throw line.
 
Alabama State dominated the glass, winning the rebounding battle 51-32.
 
The Lady Hornets finished with 30 points in the paint, 20 second-chance points and 23 bench points.
 
Southern tallied 20 points in the paint, 26 bench points and eight second chance points.
 
Alabama State scored 13 points off of 12 Jaguar turnovers, while Southern recorded 25 points off of 25 Lady Hornet miscues.
 
QUOTABLES - Head Coach Freda Freeman-Jackson
General thoughts on tonight: "My girls knew the importance of this game before going in and they executed from start to finish. I am so proud to see them getting into the swing of things and finding a rhythm in this conference. We just have to continue this type of play on the road this weekend."

On Ward: "She is a muscle type of girl, and she is always in the right position to get the rebound and make power plays like she did tonight. She is so strong against every opponent and we will continue to look for her going forward."

On facing Texas Southern: "We have a tough road trip ahead of us. Texas Southern likes to play fast in transition like us, but they also know how to feed the ball inside as well so it should be an interesting matchup."
 
NEXT UP
Alabama State will hit the road, traveling to Houston, Texas to face Texas Southern. Tip off is set for 2 pm and audio coverage is provided by the Hornets Sports Network beginning 15 minutes prior to action.
 
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