Hannah Kador scored a game-high 25 points and Ashley Augerson added 10 as #1 seed Southern advanced to the Farmers Insurance SWAC Basketball Championship Tournament final with a 67-55 victory over #5 Texas Southern.
Southern (22-8) advances to the tournament championship game for the second consecutive season and will face #7 seed Alabama State at 5 p.m. Saturday. Texas Southern ends its season 13-18.
The game featured eight lead changes and nine ties in a contest that was close for most of the contest. Tied at 38-38 all with 13:12 to play, Southern took the lead for good on a Kador three-pointer which triggered a 13-5 run that gave the Jaguars a 53-43 lead with 8:35 to play. Texas Southern never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Jasmine Cannon led Texas Southern with 17 points. Gabrielle Rosigi added 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Nadosha Strickland 12 points for the Lady Tigers, which advanced to the second round of the conference tournament for the first time since 1993.