TALLAHASSEE, Fla. | Alabama State earned a road win over Florida A&M 73-56 in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) action inside the Al Lawson Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
Alabama State (11-12, 10-4 SWAC) started strong defensively in the opening quarter, forcing six Rattler turnovers and holding them to nine points in the first quarter. Jada Nneji (Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada) led the way early with four points, two steals and a block in five minutes of play.
 
The Rattlers flipped momentum in the second with a 19-9 second quarter run, shooting 50 percent from the floor while the Hornets made just three field goals and found themselves trailing 28-21 at the half.
 
The third quarter belonged to Ayana Emmanuel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) as she scored 14 in the third, including going 4-for-5 from the free throw line, while helping Alabama State shoot 76.9 (10-for-13) percent from the charity stripe as a team.
 
The Hornets trailed 45-41 with just under three minutes to play before going on a 10-0 run heading into the fourth. They also forced the Rattlers into six turnovers in the quarter, totaling 11 points off the miscues and carried the momentum for the remainder to earn the win.
 
Alabama State finished the game shooting 43.9 (25-for-57) percent from the floor and 72.4 (21-for-29) percent from the free throw line. Emmanuel led the Hornets on the day with a game-high 27 points, including 14 in the third quarter, to go along with seven rebounds and two assists, followed by Nneji who added 11 points and five rebounds.
 
Tia Bradshaw led the Rattlers with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Anisja Harris added 17 points and six rebounds.
 
UP NEXT
Alabama State will remain in Florida to take on Bethune-Cookman on Monday, February 21, with the conference doubleheader starting at 5 pm EST in the Moore Gymnasium.
 
Follow The Hornets
For complete coverage of Alabama State University women's basketball, follow the Hornets on social media at @BamaStateWBB (Twitter), @BamaStateSports (Instagram) and /BamaStateSports (Facebook) and visit the official home of Alabama State athletics at www.bamastatesports.com.