Jamie Floyd scored 18 points and pulled down nine rebounds, and the SU Jags raced out to an early lead and cruised the rest of the way into an impressive 78-53 win over Mississippi Valley State and a sport in the 2011 SWAC Tournament finals.
Southern played arguably their strongest game of the season, and took control early and often with smothering defense and efficient shooting and closed out the first half with a dominating 19-3 run, in route to a 40-15 halftime lead and coasted the rest of the way.
The Jags turned Mississippi Valley’s 27 turnovers into 36 points, and outscored the Delta Devilette becn, 25-8.
The one sour note for SU in the game, was the Jaguars 28 turnovers.
SU’s Tiffany Foster, who missed the first game of the Tournament after sitting out a mandated suspension, finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Hannah Kador finished with 12 points and eight rebounds and Freda Allen, the SWAC’s Defensive Player of the Year, finished with 12 points and seven rebounds and six blocks. All ten Jaguars scored in the game.
“I told the kids before the game, you don’t have to be spectacular, but you do have to be solid and fundamental. I thought that was the key for us”, said head coach Sandy Pugh after the semifinal win. “We have a tendency to get into early foul trouble, but we were able to jump out early and were very solid tonight.”
At 5 p.m. Saturday in the Garland ISD Special Events Center, the top-seeded Jaguars (20-10) will face second-seeded Prairie View (20-11) with a national television audience watching, and a bid to the NCAA tournament on the line.
