MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Alabama State showed promise but struggled defensively in the exhibition match, as they fell 72-70 to Tuskegee in the Dunn-Oliver Acadome on Saturday afternoon.
 
After a clutch layup from Jayla Crawford (Birmingham, Ala.) with ten seconds to play to tie the ball game at 70-70, Tuskegee scored immediately on their next possession with a jumper leaving Alabama State with just a few seconds after a timeout, where they failed to convert to end the game.
 
Crawford led the Hornets with 25 points, followed by Ayana Emmanuel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) who scored 19 on the afternoon, while Farrah Pearson (Hazel Green, Ala.) finished with a near double-double with eight points and a team-high eight rebounds.
 
The Hornets took a 35-34 lead into the locker rooms at halftime as they shot 48.1 (13-27) percent from the field and held the Tigers under 35 (13-37) percent shooting through the first 20 minutes, however fell behind early in the third with nine turnovers in the quarter.
 
After trailing 40-39 with just under four minutes in the third, Alabama State retook the lead on a fast break layup from Crawford and ended the quarter with a closing second score to head into the final quarter with a 50-49 lead.
 
The Hornets scored 28 points in the paint and 17 fast break points in the contest, however, gave up 22 points off turnovers.
 
Tuskegee had four players in double figures led by Ashiala Jackson and India Blakely who scored 18 and 16 points respectively.
 
Alabama State opens the regular season on Tuesday (November 9) at Humphrey Coliseum against Mississippi State on SEC Network+, with tip off scheduled for 6 pm.
 
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