JACKSON, Miss. | Jackson State extended their winning streak to six, as they handed Alabama State a 78-58 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) loss in its final 2018-19 regular season contest.
Jayla Crawford led Alabama State (11-18, 10-8 SWAC) with 14 points and four rebounds, while
Tyesha Rudolph and
Tatyana Calhoun each added eight points.
Shmya Ward chipped in six points and six rebounds in the loss.
Christina Ellis of Jackson State (16-13, 12-6 SWAC) led all scorers with 18 points and three rebounds. She was joined in double figures by Sumer Williams with 12 and Marniesha Hamer with 10 points and six rebounds.
With the game tied 38-38 with 5:56 remaining in the third period, the two teams traded baskets ten times up until the final minute of the stanza. Jackson State used full court pressure to force six Lady Hornet turnovers, ending the quarter on a 13-0 run.
The Lady Hornets would then go cold from the field, missing its final four field goal attempts, as the Lady Tigers ended the frame on a jumper by Bianca King to seal the game.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Alabama State narrowly lost the rebounding battle, 36-35.
Jackson State finished with 40 points in the paint, 32 bench points and eight second chance points.
The Lady Hornets finished with 24 points in the paint, 17 second chance points and 28 bench points.
The Lady Tigers forced 17 Lady Hornet turnovers that they converted into 20 points, while Alabama State scored 13 points off of 11 Jackson State miscues.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH FREDA FREEMAN-JACKSON
General thoughts: "The full court pressure caused us problems, and we were never able to bounce back. We talked about that, because the last time we played them, we had 29 turnovers. We cannot be effective with that many turnovers, so they did a job on us when they went into that press."
On potentially facing JSU again: "We have work to do. Playing with a young team, we are all over the place. I also think the pressure to secure a top spot has taken a toll on my team and we have to regroup."
On going forward: "We will look to our older girls to show the freshman the ropes going into postseason play next week. Our three leading scorers are freshman so it shows how much we expect out of them, but at the same time, we are going to have to step up and play."
NEXT UP
Alabama State will wait for the tournament standings and prepare for the quarterfinals on Tuesday, March 12. Check back on bamastatesports.com for more updates.
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