Friday afternoon’s matchup between the Arkansas Pine-Bluff Lady Lions and the Southern University Lady Jaguars was close until the end of the third quarter, when Alabama State’s Nykeria Flowers shot a three-point bank shot to give the Lady Hornets the spark they needed, taking a 47-49 lead to begin the 4th quarter.
The Lady Hornets out-rebounded the Lady Lions 19 to 5, forced 5 turnovers, and were outscored 29 to 10 in the fourth quarter, which turned into a 12-point lead, defeating Arkansas Pine-Bluff 72-59. The Lady Hornets will move on to play Southern University in the Women’s Basketball Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Championship game on Saturday. The Lady Lions had opportunities to cut into the lead went scoreless for several periods of time during the 4th quarter of the game.
Multiple phases of the game were in favor of the Lady Hornets moving onto the Championship game, due to them being outscored in bench points 31 to 7, fast break points 14 to 6, points in the paint 32 to 24, and points off turnovers 22 to 15. Alabama State Caylee Simpson led the team in steals with 3 and scored 12 points, grabbing 4 rebounds. Amari Franklin forced 2 steals and scored 10 points,, Alanah Pooler scored 13 points with a steal, and Ny’Keria Flowers led the team in scoring with 14 points,4 rebounds, and 5 assists.
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The Lady Lions had a rough 4th quarter and fell short in the contest, but had 4 players scoring double digits. Jasmine Davis, the leading scorer, scored 17 points, 3 rebound add 5 assists. Indiya Bowen scored 13 points, grabbing 2 rebounds. Jaliah Pelly scored 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists, and Khaniah Gardner scored 11 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.
A SWAC Women’s Basketball Champion will be crowned Saturday afternoon. Who will it be, the Lady Hornets or the Lady Jaguars?