MONTGOMERY, Ala. | A late run made things interesting, but Alabama State could not overcome a tough Lady Tigers team, falling 51-44 in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) matchup to Texas Southern on Saturday in Dunn-Oliver Acadome.
 
Trailing by 13 (38-25) to start the fourth quarter, Alabama State (10-6, 9-6 SWAC) scored six points to open the stanza and cut the gap to seven. After the teams traded baskets, Taylor Aikerson knocked down a three-pointer to pull Alabama State within four, 44-40.
 
It appeared as though the Lady Hornets would tie the game or cut it to a single possession, but late foul calls stopped play and handed the ball back to Texas Southern (12-13, 9-6 SWAC), that immediately converted four consecutive free throws to ice the game.
 
Richelle Velez led all scorers with 14 points and four rebounds, while Niya Mitchell registered nine points and 10 rebounds.
 
Ayana Emmanuel led the Lady Hornets in double digits with 12 points, while Jayla Crawford and Aikerson each finished with seven points. Shmya Ward finished with seven rebounds and nine points in the loss.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

For the game, the Lady Hornets shot 33.3 (15-of-45) percent from the field and was 33.3 (4-of-12) percent from three-point range. They shot 38.5 (10-of-26) percent from the charity stripe.
 
Texas Southern won the rebounding battle, 51-44.
 
The Lady Tigers finished with 27 turnovers, while the Lady Hornets registered 25.
 
Alabama State and Texas Southern split the season series.
 
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH FREDA FREEMAN-JACKSON

General thoughts: "We had too many turnovers to start the game, but I thought we did a better job in the second half controlling the basketball. We just had too many costly errors down the stretch that led to our downfall."
 
On struggling to score: "Texas Southern is a tough team, especially on the inside so it was tough to feed the ball to Calhoun, Clark and Ward. We have to have inside points and it was tough tonight scoring inside."
 
On PVAMU: "Tonight was a must win game, and since we couldn't pull it out, we have to win on Monday. We are nearing the close of regular season so it is important to secure a top spot going into postseason."
 
NEXT UP
 
Alabama State will host their final regular season game and honor the seniors for Senior Night on Monday against Prairie View A&M. Tip is set for 5 pm and the game can be heard on the Hornets Sports Network.
 
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