GRAMBLING, La. | Ayana Emmanuel scored a season-high 27 points to help lead Alabama State to a 73-59 win over Grambling at Fredrick C. Hodby Arena in Southwestern Athletic Conference action Monday night.
 
The Lady Hornets (4-9, 1-1 SWAC) outscored the Lady Tigers (2-11, 1-1 SWAC) 48-25 in the second half to run away with their first conference win of the new decade. Eighteen of Emmanuel's 27 points came in that second half to lead an offense that shot 64.3% from the floor in the half.
 
It seemed early in the contest that Grambling may run away with the game, but the resilient Alabama State squad clawed back with the help of 14 offensive rebounds and 20 second chance points. The Lady Hornets shot exactly 50 percent in the contest, the first time eclipsing the mark in the 2019-2020 season.
 
Emmanuel also stuffed the stat sheet with six rebounds, four assists and two steals to go along with her 27 points. Sophomore Tyesha Rudolph contributed a career-high 17 points and finished just shy of a double-double with eight rebounds, while Jayla Crawford also scored in double-digits for ASU with 13 points and grabbed six boards.
 
Leading the Lady Tigers with 16 points was Alexus Holt, Jasmine Forte pulled down eight rebounds and Ariel Williams recorded three assists.
 
Quotable – Alabama State Head Women's Basketball Coach Freda Freeman-Jackson
"It was a HUGE win. A HUGE one, especially coming off the loss to Jackson State. All we practiced yesterday was defense, defense, defense. That played a big role in the win. We started in a zone to play conservatively, but then we decided to change to a man defense and that paid off. Ayana (Emmanuel) was awesome, so was (Tyesha) Rudolph. We're going to need that kind of productivity out of them game in and game out. We're excited to come back home next weekend and we'll look to win two."
 
Notables
- Ayana Emmanuel dropped a season-best 27 points in the victory, eclipsing her previous high of 25 set against Jacksonville State in November. Emmanuel's career-high was 30 points almost exactly a year (Jan. 5, 2019) ago also against Grambling State.
 
- For the third game in a row, Tyesha Rudolph set a new season-high in points scored – this time scoring a career-high 17 points in the win. Rudolph scored nine at Ole Miss and 12 at Jackson State Saturday afternoon.
 
- The win snapped a seven-game losing streak by the Lady Hornets and was their first road win since Feb. 23, 2019 at Alcorn State.
 
Up Next
Alabama State returns to the Dunn-Oliver Acadome next Saturday and Monday for their conference home openers against Mississippi Valley State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, respectively. Tipoff Saturday is set for 3 p.m. with the men's game scheduled to start shortly afterwards.
 
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