PINE BLUFF, Ark. | Ayana Emmanuel scored 29 points and Shmya Ward posted a 20-10 double-double as Alabama State held on for an 87-79 win over UAPB in SWAC action at H.O. Clemmons Arena Saturday afternoon.
 
Alabama State improved to 2-0 on the season with the win, which marks the first time since 2013 that it has started SWAC play at 2-0. The Lady Hornets led by as many as 15 points, but UAPB (2-6, 1-1 SWAC) wouldn't go down quietly and were able to take a three-point lead in the third quarter thanks to a 17-0 run.
 
Emmanuel scored 10 of the first 14 Lady Hornets points and never really cooled off from the field, knocking down 10-of-18 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. Her points output fell just one shy of tying a career-high and marked the 42^nd time in the junior's 62 career games that she's scored in double figures.
 
Ward has been a force in the paint, now with double-doubles in each of her first two games back this season after missing all of last year with an injury. The 20 points and 10 rebounds marked her 10^th career double-double.
 
Meanwhile, junior Jayla Crawford followed up her 18-point performance in game one with a 14-point showing this afternoon.
 
The Lady Hornets were able to knock down 53.6 percent (30-56) of their field goal attempts in the game, their best shooting game since making 62.5 percent (25-40) of their shots on Feb. 23, 2019 against Alcorn State.
 
UAPB struggled from the floor all afternoon, making 30.7 percent of their shot attempts – the lowest output by an Alabama State opponent since Feb. 11, 2019 against Mississippi Valley State. That didn't stop Kaila Walker or Khadijah Brown, as the duo scored 20 and 19 respectively to lead the Lady Lions.
 
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Alabama State will continue its weekend road trip with a journey to Itta Bena, where it will square off with Mississippi Valley State Monday night at 5 p.m. A win in the contest would give the Lady Hornets their best start in conference play since 2009.

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