Team ball was the name of the game for Southern in its 64-37 rout over Prairie View A&M in the quarterfinals of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament at Bartow Arena in Birmingham.
“We were locked in and our defense was stifling,” Southern head coach Carlos Funchess said.
“I always tell my team that no matter the score, you want to play good basketball. You have to be consistent on both ends of the court. Run your sets, get rotation and good shots.”
Twelve Jaguars registered numbers on the stat sheet. Seniors Tyneisha Metcalf and Taylor Williams were the game’s leading scorers with 11 points apiece.
With the outcome decided well in advance, Funchess emptied his bench. This allowed for multiple reserves to experience tournament action.
“We’re blessed to have a lot of quality young ladies on the team. We played a lot of people tonight and that’s a good thing. When we go to the bench, it’s not a real drop-off,” Funchess said.
While it was all smiles for the Jaguars, it was a long outing for the Panthers. Prairie View A&M shot a woeful 18.4% (9-49) from the field. It also had 22 turnovers. Senior forward Kennedi Heard was the top Panther with nine points.
“We just never seemed to get going and didn’t execute,” Panthers head coach Sandy Pugh said.
“We were very one-dimensional. I’m disappointed about that. We tend to struggle with small aggressive guards. They jumped out to a 9-2 lead and we never found a rhythm.”
The Jaguars take the rubber match in this series. They also improve to 16-14 overall. Prairie View A&M concludes the 2022-23 season at 15-15.
Courtesy: SWAC
