Southern 62, Texas Southern 54
HOUSTON, Texas – Nineteen points from Southern’s Briana Green helped ensure the Jaguars’ birth into the 2016 Toyota SWAC Basketball Tournament championship game after defeating Texas Southern, 62-54.
The Jaguars went to the locker room during halftime with the team leading by two, but it was Brianna Sidney of Texas Southern who led the first two quarters, scoring 11 with three, three-pointers. Keiana Vines was held at only scoring three points, while Southerns’s Green hit nine points with six rebounds.
The second half was a true back and forth point swap until the last minutes of the game when SU pulled ahead. [easyazon_infoblock align=”right” cart=”y” identifier=”B005KUVMAM” locale=”US” tag=”hbcusports-20″]
The lead changed eight times thoughout the match with the score tying on seven occasions.
Green finished with seven rebounds along with Miaya Crowder and Britney Washington who each managed six rebounds and 10 points.
Southern made 22 of the team’s 58 shots from the field while going 33 percent in three-pointers and 72.7 percent at the line. The Jaguars forced 18 turnovers.
The Lady Tigers were paced by Sidney who put up 14 points with five rebounds. Toni Cheadle hit 12 points while contributing seven rebounds and Vines recorded 10 points with nine rebounds. Joyce Kennerson who set a season scoring record in the game against Jackson State was held at tallying seven points with seven rebounds.
Overall, Texas Southern forced 14 turnovers and shot 34 percent from the field.
Alabama State 64, Grambling 50
Britney Wright and Ashanti Spencer each managed 14 points in the 64-50 win over Grambling State Friday afternoon at the Toyota Center. The Lady Hornets are set to face Southern in the 2016 Toyota SWAC Basketball championship game.
With the win, the Lady Hornets are making their first back-to-back appearances in the SWAC championship game since the 2001-02 season. In fact, ALST made it three times in a row – 2001, 2002, 2003 (winning the crown in 2003).
The first half belonged to the Lady Tigers as they completed the second quarter with a five-point advantage. GRAM captured the lead early and kept it until the Lady Hornets went on an 11-point run to even the score at 25. Two points from Monisha McNeal and a three-pointer from Bre’nae Andrews allowed the Lady Tigers to pull ahead. [easyazon_infoblock align=”right” cart=”y” identifier=”B00WZQ83EC” locale=”US” tag=”hbcusports-20″]
The Lady Hornets entered the third quarter, shutting down every GRAM attempt at scoring until Neal hit two shots to widen the point gap by seven. Nine points from Ashanti Spencer helped tied the game once again and allowed ALST to earn its first lead of the game after scoring two points from Daniele Ewert due to foul.
The Lady Hornets continued to increase their lead with back-to-back points from Spencer. A 21-point run – the longest this tournament – made the score 57-41 in favor of the Lady Hornets. ALST would continue to progress, winning the game and birthing its way into the 2016 championship game.
Wright registered a double-double, adding 13 rebounds to her resume, while Jasmine Peeples put up nine points and grabbed nine boards. Ewert also scored in double figures with 11 points.
The Lady Tigers were paced by Neal who earned 14 points as well as 11 points from Jazmine Boyd. Shakayla Hill was kept at eight points while also grabbing a team-high eight boards.
Courtesy: SWAC
