MONTGOMERY, Ala. | In the Alabama State women's basketball team's home opener, Ayana Emmanuel scored a season-high 21 points to power the Lady Hornets to a 66-61 victory over the Lady Bulldogs. Alabama State shot a season-high 45% from the field to get their first win of the season.

THE BASICS 
Score: Alabama State 66 | Samford - 61 
Records: Lady Hornets 1-6 | Lady Bulldogs 4-7 
Date: December 7, 2022 
Location: Montgomery, Ala. | Dunn-Oliver Acadome 
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HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Cordasia Harris scored four of ASU's 10 points to push the Lady Hornets to a 10-5 lead with six minutes left to play in the first frame.
• Despite Samford taking a 17-15 lead, ASU was able to knot the score at 20 apiece heading into the second quarter.
• Samford scored first in the second but Ayana Emmanuel knocked down a jumper followed by a three-pointer from Kristian Jackson to knot both teams at 26. 
• Both teams scored 11 second-quarter points to head into the intermission notched at 31-31.
• Samford put together a 6-0 run to open the second half to give the Lady Bulldogs a 37-31 advantage with eight minutes left in the third. 
• Harris and Emmanuel combine for seven points to put ASU back in front at 38-37 just two minutes later.
• Samford headed into the fourth quarter with a five-point advantage (57-42).
• Alabama State fell behind by 10 points (59-49) with 7:56 left to play in the fourth frame.
• Ayana Emmanuel scored seven points in the fourth quarter and six from Jayla Crawford to push Alabama State past Samford 66-61. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Ayana Emmanuel scored a season-high and game-high 27 points with four steals and three rebounds in the win.
• Jayla Crawford finished with 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field. 
• Cordasia Harris and Ryin Tillis led the Lady Hornets in rebounds with six apiece. Harris finished with three offensive boards.
• Samiya Steele led ASU in assists with a team-high four helpers.
• Alabama State shot 26-of-57 (45%) from the field as a team and 6-of-18 (33%) from three.

NEXT UP
Alabama State women's basketball returns to action on Sunday (Dec. 11) as they head to Austin, Texas to take on the University of Texas Longhorns inside the Moody Center at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the Longhorn Network and can be followed on live stats.