Top-seeded Southern University punched their ticket to the tournament after defeating the upset-minded Alcorn State 64-44 in the Southwest Athletic Conference Women’s Championship game.
The #6 Lady Braves took a tough route to the title game defeating #3 Alabama A&M in the quarterfinals and #2 Texas Southern in the semifinals. The confidence from those two wins followed them into Saturday’s game. A layup by Destiny Brown put Alcorn State up 20-15 with less than a minute remaining in the quarter.
A pair of free throws by Jocelyn Tate and a three-ball from DaKiyah Sanders knotted the score at 20-20 to end the first quarter. The second quarter belonged to the Lady Jags.
Southern head coach Carlos Funchess called for a zone defense for the first time this season. The switch-up paid dividends as the Lady Jags held the Lady Braves to 4 points in the second quarter. “It kept them off balance,” said Funchess. “When you see something you haven’t prepared for, especially in a one-day tournament, that’s tough.”
The zone defense allowed Southern to build a 12-point lead at the half. Alcorn State made adjustments at the half but they could never cut into the Lady Jaguars’ lead.