The late drama that decided the first women’s basketball matchup this season between the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Mississippi Valley State wasn’t needed Saturday.
UAPB cruised past Valley 68-48 on senior day at H.O. Clemmons Arena. Junior guard Indiya Bowen led the Lady Lions (12-14, 9-7 SWAC) with 27 points, her third-best scoring night this season. No other UAPB player reached double figures in scoring, but senior center Briontanay Marshall tied her season highs in points with nine and rebounds with 11. Junior forward Khaniah Gardner scored eight points with 10 rebounds.
Marshall, who finished one point shy of what would have been her first Division I double-double, said it felt good to have one of her best performances in her final home game.
“I was kind of nervous coming in,” Marshall said. “I felt like there was a lot of pressure, but my teammates believe in me. My coaches believe in me. … I wanted (the double-double) real bad, but as long as we got the win, that was cool.”
Marshall was one of three seniors honored Saturday. The Lady Lions were without one of their other seniors, Kristyna Boyd, who is out for the season with injury. She appeared in six games with two starts this season but last saw action on Jan. 15.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The third senior, forward Briah Hampton, made her first start of the season. She had not played more than 5 minutes in a game this season but played 10 minutes Saturday, collecting four rebounds and a block.
UAPB Coach Erica Leak said when she signed Hampton in the offseason, she was expecting Hampton to be a starter.
“To see her have a setback with her knee, and to come back and still finish strong, I’m really proud of her resiliency and who she is as a person,” Leak said. “When you go to (Southeast Missouri State), and you’ve been at Austin Peay and such a great player out of high school, to have some setbacks and still continue on, it says a lot about who she is.”
The Lady Lions shot 41.5% from the floor, while Valley (6-21, 5-11) shot 30.2 percent. The Devilettes finished 0 of 12 from three-point range.
Junior guard Kylah McCullers led Valley with 10 points. Valley turned the ball over 24 times, leading to 30 UAPB points.
UAPB opened the game on a 9-0 run and led the rest of the way. The Devilettes didn’t score from the field until the 3:57 mark of the first quarter, and forward Ariel Jefferson’s layup was one of just two made field goals in the opening period for Valley. Bowen had more points, 12, than Valley, 10, after the first.
UAPB grew its lead to 36-16 late in the second quarter by holding Valley scoreless for 6:03 of the period. Jefferson broke the drought with a layup 14 seconds before halftime.
Valley outscored UAPB 18-16 in the third quarter, but the Lady Lions won the fourth 16-12. UAPB held its largest lead of the game, 67-43, with 2:23 remaining in the fourth.
When UAPB last played Valley on Jan. 31, the Lady Lions won 68-66 after a fourth-quarter comeback. Leak said Saturday’s performance shows how much better the Lady Lions are playing now.
“We’re doing so many things so much better fundamentally, and our non-negotiables,” Leak said. “The girls have bought into it. So, we’re just better. Credit to our team.”
The win was UAPB’s seventh straight at home, wrapping up an 8-3 record this season at Clemmons Arena.
It also keeps the Lady Lions in a three-way tie with Jackson State and Grambling State, which both also won on Saturday, for fifth place in the SWAC with two games left in the regular season.