With a spot in next week’s Southwestern Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament secured, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is looking to build momentum in its final regular season games.
UAPB will travel to Jackson State for a 5:30 p.m. tip today, then Alcorn State at 1 p.m.
Head coach Dawn Thornton said for UAPB (16-13, 11-5 SWAC), which has already clinched a spot in the SWAC tournament, this week is about preparing for the postseason.
“We get glimpses of how good this team really is,” Thornton said. “With Zaay Green returning, we want to kind of see what that basketball looks like for us. So, we’re playing right now for March. We should be showing glimpses of championship basketball right now to finish out the regular season.”
The Lady Lions enter the week on a two-game winning streak and will get guard Zaay Green back after she missed the past three games. She also missed UAPB’s previous meeting with Jackson State (21-6, 16-0), a 72-56 defeat in Pine Bluff on Feb. 12.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Green rejoins a revitalized UAPB lineup. Coriah Beck scored 21 points in each of the past two games after only reaching that mark once this season. Tia Morgan played a season-high 35 minutes in those games and reached double digits in both. She also dealt a season-high seven assists Saturday against Mississippi Valley State.
UAPB finished Saturday’s game with 24 assists and now gets to add the SWAC’s assists leader, Green, back to the lineup. Thornton said it is a big help for UAPB to add Green to a lineup already playing well.
“We should look a little bit more polished,” Thornton said. “Like I said, we should be playing our best basketball in March, and with Zaay back on the floor with us, I would love to be able to see what that type of basketball is going to continue to look like as we grow and get through March together.”
UAPB will finish the regular season no lower than fifth in the SWAC standings, but the Lady Lions could still finish as high as the No. 2 seed if they win twice and Grambling State loses twice. Without help from GSU, the No. 3 seed is the best UAPB could earn.
The Lady Lions reached the title game last year as the No. 7 seed, and Thornton said seeding doesn’t matter to her.
“Maybe I’m old school,” Thornton said. “It’s about who’s going to play the best basketball for 40 minutes for three games straight that’ll win a championship. I think that that’s something that we, as a team, we understand. Seedings don’t really matter. I’m thankful to have an opportunity to finish in the top half… This is the highest that we would have finished since I’ve been here, so I am excited about celebrating that.”
While UAPB enters this week seeking the best possible seed for the SWAC tournament, both of its opponents have their own motivations.
Jackson State has clinched the regular season SWAC championship for a fourth-straight year but is still seeking to finish conference play undefeated for the second time in three years. Alcorn State (8-19, 6-10) enters the final week of the regular season right on the edge of the cutoff for the SWAC tournament and will be playing with its season on the line.