LADY HORNETS STIFLE JACKSON, PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
The Alabama State women’s basketball team had a difficult task at hand with visiting Prairie View A&M coming to the Dunn-Oliver Acadome on Monday night: slowing the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s top scorer in Jeanette Jackson.
Jackson, the senior guard, entered averaging a conference-best 17.6 points per contest.
But, the Lady Hornets were prepared as the team used a swarming defense anchored by the tough inside play of junior center Jasmine Peeples and the active hands from their guards up top to win easily 60-42 to snap a three-game losing skid.
Prairie View A&M, one of the top offensive scoring teams in the SWAC, entered Monday’s conference match up averaging 64.6 points per contest.
They were held in check when they entered the Hornets’ nest.
Alabama State (13-13, 9-7 SWAC) did not allow the Lady Panthers to score their first points until there was 12:40 remaining in the first half as ASU began with an 18-4 run to start the game.
The lowest point total allowed in a single game this season by a SWAC team was 30 points on two occasions. Alabama State held Grambling to that total on Jan. 3 and again vs. Mobile on Dec. 19.
That total was on watch all night as the low mark was in danger of being reached until late in the contest.
Prairie View (13-15, 10-6 SWAC) did not break the 30-point threshold until there was three minutes left.
The Lady Hornets also held PV without a 3-point field goal as it shot 0-of-9 from long distance.
“I thought my girls did an extremely good job of paying attention to detail and knowing where she [Jackson] was on the floor at all times,” said ASU women’s basketball coach Freda Freeman-Jackson. “They broke her down, moved their feet on defense and did not allow her to get anything easy. She just had a tough night. I thought everybody did a great job—it took a team effort to stop her.”
Offensively, Lady Hornets’ sophomore scoring dynamo Britney Wright drew contact, consistently got to the free throw line and scored 21 points (5-of-12 from the field, 2-of-4 from 3-point range and 9-of-12 from the charity stripe) to go along with nine rebounds and a blocked shot.
Wright came up with timely hoops throughout the contest.
To close out the first half, she corralled an offensive rebound and went up for a put back just as the buzzer sounded to close the opening half and gave ASU a 30-17 advantage going into the locker room.
Peeples had to contend with guarding 6-foot-4 junior Shamiya Brooks in the post and did a commendable job by registering seven points, 13 rebounds and five blocks in 32 minutes of action.
Senior guard Tabitha Bradshaw had one of her most productive offensive games of the season, hitting 4-of-8 shots for 10 points—all in the first half—to tie her second highest total in a game this season.
Next, the Lady Hornets will play at Grambling State (9-17, 6-9 SWAC) Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
