HUNTSVILLE, Ala. | Alabama State drops a 76-68 contest in the rivalry matchup against Alabama A&M in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) action inside of Elmore Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
 
Ayana Emmanuel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) continued her strong play, leading Alabama State with 36 points, including five three-pointers, while Shmya Ward (Memphis, Tenn.) added eight points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
 
Alabama State (12-13, 11-5 SWAC) came out rolling, starting the game on a 10-2, fueled by a pair of scores from Farrah Pearson (Hazel Green, Ala.), four points from Ward and a pair of free throws from Emmanuel.
 
With just under six minutes to play in the opening quarter, Alabama A&M recovered with a run of their own, tying the game with 3:14 to go in the first before taking a 13-11 lead on their next possession and ending the quarter with a 20-11 advantage.
 
The Hornets' struggles continued out of the break as they went scoreless for the first four minutes of the second before Brazyll Watkins (Battle Creek, Mich.) ended the drought with 6:13 to play in the half trailing 28-15.

Alabama State finished the half shooting 32.4 (11-for-34) percent from the field, 16.7 (1-for-6) percent from three-point range, and 83.3 (5-for-6) percent free throw line and went into the locker room down 40-28.
 
The two teams continued to battle in the third, with the Hornets reducing the lead on two occasions, yet could not get within single digits and entered the fourth trailing 60-49.
 
The Hornets reduced the lead to eight to start the final quarter off a score and foul, yet a run from the Bulldogs put the score at 67-55 with eight minutes to play. Minutes later, Dakiyah Sanders (Birmingham, Ala.) pulled the Hornets back within eight at 72-64, however the team could not fully recover and picked up the loss.
 
Alabama State finished the game shooting 36.5 (23-for-63) percent from the floor, 40 (6-for-15) percent from three-point range and 84.2 (16-for-19) percent from the free throw line.
 
Nigeria Jones led three double figure scores for the Bulldogs with 35 points, followed by Dariauna Lewis and Darian Burgin with 16 and 12 points respectively.
 
UP NEXT
Alabama State will return to the Dunn-Oliver Acadome for their final two regular season games, starting with a matchup against Southern on Thursday, March 3. Tip-off is set for 5:30 pm.
 
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