The Florida A&M women’s basketball team fell to the Grambling Tigers 88-85 in three overtimes at home Monday.
The Rattlers (2-12, 1-2) had five players score in double figures, led by Nashani Gilbert, who had 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Peryonna Sylvester added 18 points, and Olivia Delancy helped out with 17 points and six rebounds off of the bench.
Led by Gilbert’s six offensive rebounds, Florida A&M did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 14 boards that resulted in 10 second chance points.
The Florida A&M defense was a problem in Monday’s game, forcing 27 Grambling turnovers while committing 25. Those takeaways turned into 24 points on the offensive end of the floor. Ivet Subirats’ four steals led the way individually for the Rattlers.
After jumping out to a 6-4 advantage, Florida A&M went on a 9-0 run with 6:49 left in the first quarter, culminating in a bucket from Subirats to increase its lead to 15-4. The Rattlers then maintained that lead and entered the quarter break with a 22-11 advantage.
Florida A&M relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down three shots to account for nine of its 22 points.
Leaving Florida Up 2️⃣#Gramfam|#ThisIsTheG🐯🏀|#ChampionshipTalk💍 pic.twitter.com/KU6HuUdVnn
— Grambling State University Women’s Basketball (@GSU_WBK) January 16, 2024
The Rattlers used the second period to increase their lead and entered halftime with a 38-22 edge. Florida A&M was strong from deep in the period, knocking down four three-point shots to account for 12 of its 16 points.
Florida A&M continued to preserve its halftime lead before going on a 6-0 run, punctuated by a three from Delancy, to expand its lead further to 46-29 with 5:44 to go in the third.
Before the conclusion of the period, the Tigers had cut into that lead somewhat, but the Rattlers still entered the fourth quarter with a 54-47 edge. Florida A&M took advantage of four Grambling turnovers in the quarter, scoring four points off of takeaways.
Grambling proceeded to take a 55-54 lead before Florida A&M went on a 5-0 run to seize a 59-55 lead with 5:23 to go in the fourth.
The Tigers then fought back to even things up at 64-64 and sent the game to overtime. Florida A&M took advantage of seven Grambling turnovers in the quarter, scoring five points off of those takeaways.
Grambling then snagged an 81-80 advantage with 3:46 left in the third overtime before Florida A&M responded by going on a 5-0 run, finished off by Gilbert’s three, to seize an 85-81 lead with 2:51 to go in the period. Grambling re-asserted control, outscoring the Rattlers 7-0 the rest of the way to hand Florida A&M the 88-85 loss.
Courtesy: Florida A&M Athletics
