MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Alabama State opens play in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) championship tournament on Thursday morning in their earliest start of the year against No. 6 seed Prairie View A&M. The two will tip at 11 am in the first game of the day inside Bartow Arena with a semifinal berth on the line.

The two teams met earlier this season in Texas with Prairie View A&M coming away with a 61-58 win over the Hornets in just the fifth conference game of 2022. Ayana Emmanuel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) was the lone player in double figures for Alabama State on the day, finishing with 14 points and the Hornets shot just 32.3 (21-of-65) percent from the floor. Meanwhile, Diana Rosenthal and Kirdis Clark each finished with 17 points for Prairie View A&M.

Game Information
Date: March 10, 2022
Tip: 11:00 am
Site: Birmingham, Ala. | Bartow Arena
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Game Notes

• Alabama State enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed and is in the same bracket as No. 2 seed Alabama A&M (split season series) and No. 7 seed Grambling State. The Hornets are 1-4 against teams in their half of the bracket entering play.
• Emmanuel was named First Team All-SWAC this week, the only player from the Hornets to be named to the two squads. The team returns a wealth of talent that made it to the championship game last season, falling to Jackson State 67-66.
• Alabama State is looking for their first conference championship since 2016, the second of back-to-back championships under head coach Freda Freeman-Jackson. They are the last team to repeat after ending a four-year run by Prairie View A&M (2011-14).
• The game against Prairie View A&M marks the second consecutive year that Alabama State opens play in the tournament against a team from the state of Texas, defeating Texas Southern 86-69 last season.
• Emmanuel leads the team in scoring at 16.6 points per game and is one of three players averaging double figures this season. Shmya Ward (Memphis, Tenn.) is averaging 12.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game entering the tournament, while Jayla Crawford (Huffman, Ala.) is averaging 10.2 points per game.
• In conference play, Emmanuel is averaging 18.1 points per game while Ward is at 13.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Crawford is averaging 10.1 points per game in conference play.

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