Alabama State University women’s basketball team defeated the Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical University Panthers 68-62 Saturday afternoon in a conference matchup at the Dunn Oliver Acadome in Montgomery, Alabama.
The Hornets now move to 5-13 overall this season and 3-3 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
The Hornets have stayed pretty consistent with their starting lineup this season, which consists of junior guard Amari Franklin, graduate student forward O’Mariyah Tucker, senior forward Justina Graham, graduate student guard Cordasia Harris, and senior guard Taylor Smith.
The Hornets started strong after a nice assist from Smith to Harris to get the team on the board. Despite the Panthers answering with a score of their own, this did not stop the Hornets offense. A short mid-range jumper from Justina Graham added to the Hornets’ early lead, as the score was 11-4 with 5 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Checking into the game for the Hornets was sophomore forward Alanah Pooler. She quickly got things going as she made a big 3-pointer for the team. Pooler went on to finish with 15 points and 5 rebounds in 27 minutes. The Panthers would struggle out of the gate, as the first quarter came to a close with the Hornets leading 17-11.
Shortly after the second quarter started, Tucker drove to the basket making a smooth layup adding to the Hornets lead. Their lead only increased with the help of Pooler, after a long 3-pointer halfway through the second quarter. The Hornets offense came to a halt, as the Panthers came climbing all the way back. A 3-pointer by the Panthers guard Mikayla Hutchinson would tie the game at 28 with a minute remaining in the quarter. Harris answered back with a layup to give the Hornets back the lead.
Going into halftime the Hornets had a one-point lead over the Panthers with the score being 33-32. Coming out of the break Panthers center Amauri Williams came out firing with two baskets forcing coach Freeman-Jackson to call a timeout for the Hornets. The team still did not seem to have an answer for the Panthers as they stretched their lead to 15 points with a little over two minutes remaining.
With 1:19 left in the third quarter, the Panthers are forced to take a timeout of their own as the Hornets have a scoring run themselves cutting down the deficit to seven points. The score going into the final quarter of the game was 47-57.
Huge baskets from Smith, Pooler, and Harris all contributed to the second half comeback for the Alabama State Hornets. Free throws from Harris and Smith would ice the game, as the team went on to win with a final score of 68-62.
The Hornets will return to action in another conference matchup at home against Texas Southern University on Monday, Jan. 27.