BATON ROUGE, La. | Alabama State University women's basketball continued its climb in the Southwestern Athletic Conference standings Thursday night, defeating SWAC leader Southern University 61-57 at the F.G. Clark Activity Center.
The Hornets, who have now won five straight SWAC games, were led by
Alanah Pooler, who scored a career-high 17 points to pace three Alabama State players in double figures. The win handed Southern just its third conference loss of the season.
Alabama State (10-11, 7-3 SWAC) overcame an early deficit after Southern held a 16-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Hornets responded with a strong second period, outscoring the Jaguars 17-11 to take a 30-27 advantage into halftime.
Pooler fueled the Hornets throughout the night, shooting 8 of 11 from the field while providing a steady presence on both ends of the floor.
Clearia Peterson added 11 points and eight rebounds, while
Shamya Reid chipped in 10 points, six assists and five steals to round out Alabama State's balanced offensive attack.
The Hornets maintained control in the third quarter, extending their lead behind efficient shooting and defensive pressure that limited Southern to 23.8 percent shooting in the period. Alabama State carried a 45-38 edge into the final 10 minutes.
Southern mounted a late rally in the fourth quarter, trimming the margin to two possessions, but Alabama State answered with timely baskets and defensive stops to hold off the Jaguars down the stretch. The Hornets finished the game shooting 48.1 percent from the field and outscored Southern 42-36 in the paint.
Southern (11-10, 7-3 SWAC) was led by Demya Porter with 11 points, while Olivia Delancy added 10. The Jaguars shot 34.7 percent from the field for the game and were held to just 1 of 5 shooting from the free-throw line.
Alabama State's victory tightened the race atop the SWAC standings and continued the Hornets' surge midway through conference play. The five-game league winning streak is Alabama State's longest of the season.
Alabama State wraps up the SWAC road trip against Grambling State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
