#2 seed advances to semifinals
After a slow start, Southern’s second half surge powered the Lady Jaguars to a 57-49 win over Texas Southern in the first round of the SWAC tournament. “We just didn’t play well in the first half,” said Southern head coach Sandy Pugh. “In the second half, we needed to get more dribble penetration and better shots. We were just settling for difficult shots.”
After a first half in which both teams shot poorly, the Southern backcourt took over the game, easily breaking the TSU press, setting up their post players for easy baskets and building as much as a 15 point lead.
Kimberly Griffin led the Lady Jaguars with 13 points, while Jamie Floyd added 12 points and eight rebounds. TSU’s Tina Brown led all scorers with 19 point. Brandi Justice and Trikeyia East had 10 each.
Despite the loss, first year TSU head coach Yolanda Wells-Broughton was still proud of her team’s achievement of reaching the tournament for the first time since 2003. “This is our first step,” Wells-Broughton said. “We’ve laid the foundation and changed the culture here. There’s no doubt that we’ll use what we learned as a stepping stone for future success.”
Southern advances to the seminfinals on Friday at noon where they’ll face the winner of Alabama State-Mississippi Valley State.
