The Jackson State women’s basketball team secured a statement victory over Prairie View A&M Monday night to claim its fourth consecutive SWAC regular season championship.
The Tigers held Prairie View A&M to just 16.7 percent from deep in a 4-for-24 shooting performance on the way to a 90-65 victory over the Panthers.
Jackson State (18-8, 15-1) had three players score in double figures, led by Jariyah Covington, who had 25 points. Keshuna Luckett added 13 points and two steals and Ti’lan Boler chipped in as well with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Led by Boler’s three offensive rebounds, Jackson State pulled down 18 boards that resulted in 22 second-chance points. The JSU defense held Prairie View A&M to only 16.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc and 25 percent from the field. Jackson State (18-8, 15-1 SWAC) went on a 6-0 run with 8:59 left in the first quarter, culminating in a bucket from Ja’Leah Hickmon, to increase its lead to 11-2.
The Tigers then added two points to that lead by the end of the period and entered the quarter break with a 23-12 advantage. JSU did most of its first-quarter damage in the paint, scoring 16 of its 23 points close to the basket.
Jackson State kept its first-quarter lead intact before going on a 6-0 run starting at the 3:45 mark in the second period to increase its lead to 40-24. The Tigers kept that lead for the remainder of the period and cruised to a 44-28 advantage heading into halftime.
Jackson State saw non-starters score 11 of its 21 total points off the bench in the quarter. JSU continued to preserve its halftime lead before going on an 8-0 run, punctuated by a three from Covington to expand its lead further to 65-42 with six seconds to go in the third, a score which remained until the end of the third quarter.
The Tigers took advantage of three Prairie View A&M turnovers in the quarter, scoring six points off of takeaways.
Jackson State kept widening that lead, expanding it to 85-61 before going on a 5-0 run to grow the lead to 90-61 with 55 seconds to go in the contest.
Prairie View A&M (14-14 11-6 SWAC) narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but JSU still cruised the rest of the way for the 90-65 win.
Jackson State got a boost from its bench in the period, with non-starters scoring 11 of its 25 total points.
Courtesy: Jackson State Athletics
