Lady Panthers 1 Win away from Second Staight Title

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- One more win is all the Prairie View A&M Lady

Panthers will need to secure their second consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference Title after a convincing 83-70 win over the Lady Golden Lions of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.Â Â Â Â Â The Lady Panthers shot a blazing 49 percent from the field which included a 54 percent showing from behind the arc. Candice Thomas scored a game high 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor. Thomas also went perfect from the charity stripe going 5-of-5.

Freshmen Dominique Smith contributed 17 points off the bench on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor. Smith helped ignite Prairie View A&M’s fast break attack in the second half which subsequently helped the Lady Panthers secure momentum of the contest.“I feel like we play our best basketball when we are able to get out a make things happen in transition,” said PVAMU head coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke. “In the first have we were hesitant to play our up tempo style of play. In the second half we came out and played our style of aggressive basketball both offensively and defensively and we were able to take control of the game.”

Prairie View A&M will now face the Jackson State Lady Tigers in a rematch of the 2007 SWAC Tournament Championship game. The Lady Tigers clinched their second consecutive title game birth with a 69-62 double overtime victory overÂ Mississippi Valley

State.The game will take place on Saturday, March 14^th at Fair Park Arena in Birmingham, Ala. Tip off is set for 4:00 p.m. The contest will be televised live on ESPNU.