BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | Alabama State used a big first quarter from Jayla Crawford to pull away from Southern in the 2021 Cricket Wireless Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Tournament, moving into the championship game with a 69-60 victory at Bartow Arena Friday afternoon.

Crawford scored 14 of her game-high 22 points in the opening quarter to help Alabama State to a 10-point lead which would grow to as many as 15 late in the third quarter. The Lady Hornets withstood a pair of runs by Southern, one late in the first half that got the Lady Jags to within four and another that got them to within eight in the second half.

Alabama State (16-3) used a 47.8 (22-for-46) percent shooting performance to pull away from Southern for their first win over the Lady Jags in three tries this season. Although they were held to just a pair of three-pointers in the game, Alabama State finished the contest shooting 85.2 (23-for-27) percent from the free throw line. With its performance at the line, Alabama State has connected on 86.2 (50-for-58) percent of their free throws through the first two games of the tournament.

Crawford finished the day connecting on 53.3 (8-for-15) percent of her shots from the floor, while Ayana Emmanuel finished with points and four rebounds. Shmya Ward finished with 11 points and eight rebounds for the Lady Hornets.

Armani Smith, who was inserted into the starting lineup for the semifinals, finished the day with six points, five rebounds, and a pair of assists. But she also held Genovea Johnson to just four field goals on the day despite finishing with 19 points (11-for-15 from the line) and took Southern out of their rhythm offensively. The Lady Jags finished the day shooting just 38.0 (19-for-50) percent from the floor and just 22.2 (2-for-9) percent from beyond the arc.

No. 2 seed Alabama State will face the winner of No. 1 seed Jackson State and No. 4 seed Grambling State in the championship game Saturday afternoon at 1:30 pm. The game can be seen on ESPN3 and heard on the Hornet Sports Network.

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