COLLEGE PARK, Ga. – A fourth-quarter push by one of the SWAC’s top teams wasn’t enough to send the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff women’s basketball team home early.
UAPB outlasted No. 2-seed Alcorn State for a 64-60 win in the SWAC tournament quarterfinals Wednesday afternoon at the Gateway Center Arena. UAPB Coach Erica Leak said it was a March Madness type of game.
“Just because you’re up 20 points or 15, you always have to be ready for that run,” Leak said. “Basketball is a game of runs. Alcorn State is a very good team, very well-coached team, and they’re tough. So, for my girls to pull it out and play with grit after a tough game yesterday says a lot about their toughness.”
No. 7-seed UAPB (15-15) led 53-35 entering the fourth quarter, but the Lady Braves roared back. Senior guard Jailah Pelly hit a jumper with 3:38 remaining to give the Lady Lions a 59-48 lead, but UAPB didn’t score from the field again.
No. 2-seed Alcorn State (17-13) went on an 8-1 run, aided by a flagrant foul against UAPB freshman Jakyra Jackson. A late three-pointer by Alcorn graduate student Nakia Cheatham made it a one possession game with 6.4 seconds remaining, but UAPB senior guard Jasmine Davis made a crucial free throw to put the game on ice.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The Lady Braves scored 14 points from nine offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter, fueling their comeback attempt.
Alcorn Coach Nate Kilbert said even when the Lady Braves were down big, he thought his team would come back and win.
“I thought we would get back in the game and we’d have an opportunity, which we did,” Kilbert said. “We got back in the game. We had an opportunity to win the game if we had just made a few plays here or there. A couple turnovers hurt us.”
Pelly scored a game-high 19 points, with junior forward Khaniah Gardner scoring 16 points with 10 rebounds. UAPB senior guard Indiya Bowen added 14 points. Cheatham led Alcorn with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
This was UAPB’s third win against Alcorn this season. The Lady Braves finished 14-5 against SWAC opponents, with more than half of their losses coming to UAPB. Alcorn’s final two games of the season were losses to UAPB after losing on senior night to end the regular season.
Alcorn came out firing, making five of its first seven shots to take an 11-4 lead before the offense dried up. After junior forward Lauren Nelson made a layup with 5:46 remaining in the first quarter, the Lady Braves didn’t score again until she made a jumper 1:36 into the second quarter.
Leak said Alcorn’s good start came from an adjustment Kilbert made against UAPB’s 2-3 zone defense.
“We figured they would make an adjustment, but again, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” Leak said. “So, we stayed with that. He made a great adjustment, and they got on us quick, so we knew what we were going to do next. We just wanted to see if he made any adjustments, which he did, so we went to our secondary zone defense, and we were pretty good at it.”
UAPB continued to struggle from the floor, but the Lady Lions got to the free throw line in the second quarter and made 8 of 9. Gardner tied the game with a three-point play at the 2:57 mark before halftime, and Pelly gave UAPB its first lead from the line with 1:30 left in the half.
Alcorn didn’t make a shot from the field in the final 3:22 of the half, and UAPB finished on an 11-1 run to take a 25-18 advantage into the locker room.
UAPB got its offense going in the third quarter. After shooting 32% in the first half, the Lady Lions made 11 of 14 shots in the third quarter. UAPB finished the period on an 8-0 run.
Bowen said the first half shooting struggles didn’t faze UAPB.
“Shots not falling, that’s just a part of the game,” Bowen said. “Mindset was, keep fighting. Shots not falling, find a way to make it work. We made it work, getting to the rack, getting to the foul line. I feel like that was a big part of the game, making those free throws, and I feel like we stuck it out.”
UAPB made 17 of 24 from the free-throw line, including going 12 of 14 in the middle quarters.
With the win, UAPB will play in the SWAC semifinals for the third time in the past four seasons, though this will be the first trip under Leak. The Lady Lions will play at 4:30 p.m. CDT on Friday against the winner of Thursday’s game between No. 3-seed Alabama State and No. 6-seed Grambling State.