Southern University punched its ticket to the SWAC women’s basketball tournament championship with a hard-fought 51-49 victory over No. 1 seed Alabama A&M on Friday.
The Jaguars, holding the lead for 28 of 32 minutes, outscored the Bulldogs in the paint and clamped down defensively in the final stretch to seal the one-possession battle.
Southern coach Carlos Funchess praised the team’s composure after a season of close calls against the Bulldogs, including two games decided by just five points.
“The last two times we played, it came down to the last two or three possessions,” Funchess said. “We just wanted the opportunity to be in the game coming down the stretch and be able to get a win. Thankfully, we got the job done.”
Game-clinching moment
Guard Jocelyn Tate delivered the game-winner with 1.1 seconds left in regulation, driving baseline and calmly knocking down the shot despite contact.
It was just another day at the office for Tate, who scored 10 points for the Jaguars.
“It was like another regular play to me,” Tate said. “I stayed put, I stayed calm, and I took my time going up. It was a big shot, but like I said, another play for me.”
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The game-winning basket came on a Southern defense that held the Bulldogs to 0-for-6 over their final six possessions, as the Jaguars forced tough jumpers and protected the lane.
“We wanted to guard in the lane… not letting them get a lot of paint points,” Funchess explained.
Even more remarkably, Southern held SWAC Player of the Year Kaylia Walker, who scored 31 points in the quarterfinal round, to just seven points — all from the free-throw line.
A&M laments the end of a historic season
Alabama A&M coach Dawn Thornton remained proud despite the defeat that snapped the program’s 18-game winning streak and prevented them from making that coveted trip to the NCAA Tournament.
“This one moment doesn’t define what this season has looked like for us,” said Thornton. “Southern is a very well-established team.
“It boiled down to one play.”
Coriah Beck, who scored 11 points and tallied six rebounds, captured the raw emotion of the end.
“We worked so hard… 18 straight [wins]. At the end of the day, we feel like the team that wanted it more. We needed it more, honestly.”
Southern now eyes back-to-back SWAC titles.
“It means the world,” Demaya Porter said. “We worked all year for this… nothing’s come easy to us.”
