Montgomery, Ala. – Alabama State held off a fourth-quarter surge from Jacksonville State to earn a 68-63 win in non-conference women's basketball action inside of the Dunn-Oliver Acadome on Wednesday night.
 
The Lady Hornets (2-2) and the Gamecocks (2-3) both made 22 field goals in the game but Alabama State made 19 free throws which created enough space to hold on for the win.
 
Trailing 56-45 with 4:57 remaining in the fourth, Jacksonville State went on a 10-0 run with five points coming from Taylor Hawks to reduce their deficit to just one (56-55) with 3:20 left. Alabama State kept its one-point lead for the next 3:10 until junior Courtney Lee was intentionally fouled with 10 seconds remaining.
 
Lee made both free throws at the line to take a 66-63 lead. On the inbound, sophomore Ayana Emmanuel was able to ice the game by grabbing a steal and drawing a foul which led to the 68-63 win.
 
Emmanuel led the way with a season- and game-high 25 points on a hot 8-of-11 (72.7 percent) shooting from the field including a career-high four three-pointers made. Emmanuel added five rebounds, an assist and a steal.
 
Freshman Aniyah Smith followed behind with 18 points on a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe with a game-high tying six rebounds. Lee poured in a season-high tying seven points with a career- and game-high six assists.
 
Hawks led the way for the Gamecocks with 23 points on 6-of-7 shooting from behind the arc alongside two rebounds, an assist and a steal.
 
Up Next
Alabama State remains at home when it welcomes Paine on Sunday at 3 p.m.
 
Season Tickets
Season tickets are available for the 2019-20 season by calling 334-229-4551 or visiting BamaStateSports.com. Those interested in courtside seating, call Deputy Director of Athletics Terrance Jones at 334-207-1756 or email him at tjones@alasu.edu.
 
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