After a close first quarter of action, the Jackson State women’s basketball team pulled away from Mississippi Valley over the next three quarters as the Lady Tigers defeated the Devilettes 87-56 Saturday afternoon at the Lee E. Williams Athletic and Assembly Center.
.@HBCUGameday That’s game! @GoJSU_WBB 🀠87@ValleyStateWBB 🀠56
The Lady Tigers improve to 7-12 and 3-5 in SWAC play. Jackson State returns to action Monday as the Lady Tigers host University of Arkansas Pine Bluff. Tipoff set for 5:30.
MVSU drops to 3-16 and 2-6 in SWAC. pic.twitter.com/J9tymX6x8b
– Wilton Jackson II (@WiltonReports) February 2, 2019
JSU improved to 7-12 and 3-5 in conference play. Coming off the bench, Marneisha Hamer led JSU in scoring with 22 points (8-of-12 shooting from the floor) in 23 minutes of action, followed by Kaisah Lucky with 13 points and Christina Ellis with 12 points.
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Lady Tigers coach Tomekia Reed said after a flat start in the first quarter, she challenged her team to get over the hump and they responded well.
“I challenged the girls at a timeout to get over the hump and put this team away early and to keep them down once we got them down,” Reed said.
“After I made that challenge to the players, they came out and were hungry to get this victory. We picked up our intensity. We picked up our aggression and our defensive effort was really good.”
Reed also said Lucky’s presence on the court offensively made a big difference from an overall team standpoint in Saturday’s victory.
“One thing that helped her out was not getting into early foul trouble. She was able to play good defense, move her feet and stay on the floor for us, it kept her involved. When Lucky gets in foul trouble and sits on the bench, we struggle.”
As a team, the Lady Tigers shot 50 percent off 30-of-60 shooting from the floor, outrebounded the Devilettes 50-37, recorded 25 second-chance points, 20 points off turnovers and 48 bench points.
The Devilettes dropped to 3-16 and 2-6 in conference play with the loss. MVSU finished the game shooting 28.1 percent off 18-of-64 shooting from the floor and 34.8 percent from three-point range. However, the Devilettes best shooting stat came in the first quarter with their three-point shooting, knocking down 44.4 percent off 4-of-9 from three-point range.
Reed said the effectiveness of MVSU’s three-point shooting early on came from the defense they were playing in.
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After the first period, however, the Devilettes were outscored 47-18 over the next two periods before recording 22 points in the fourth quarter. Kristy Parker led the Devilettes in scoring with 12 points in 33 minutes of action, followed by Sydnie Ward with 10, Ronni Wiliams with 9 and LaKendra Bassett and Angelica Darcus with eight respectively.
The Lady Tigers got off to an early 5-0 lead before the Devilettes fought back and the two teams sat tied at 11 with 4:03 to play in the first quarter. MVSU used three-point shooting in the first quarter to keep the game close, hitting 4-of-9 from three-point range. However, JSU led 17-16 at the end of the first quarter.
After a brief offensive stint from the Devilettes, the Lady Tigers remained in full control and took advantage of turnovers from MVSU that earned them 14 points in the period, eight second-chance points and four fast break points.
.@HBCUGameday@GoJSU_WBB 🀠42@ValleyStateWBB 🀠27
Halftime pic.twitter.com/EWIpobxlzr
– Wilton Jackson II (@WiltonReports) February 2, 2019
Leading scorers | @GoJSU_WBB ðŸ€
Kaisah Lucky – 10 points
Christina Ellis – 10 pointsLeading scorers | @ValleyStateWBB ðŸ€
Kristy Parker – 7 points
Ronni Williams – 6 points– Wilton Jackson II (@WiltonReports) February 2, 2019
JSU led 42-27 at halftime.
The Lady Tigers put together a 22-6 run in the third quarter, played with their same momentum from the first half and took a commanding 64-34 lead going into the fourth quarter.
In the final period, MVSU fought to keep the game close but the defense and offensive efficiency from the Lady Tigers were too much for the Devilettes as the Lady Tigers cruised to their third conference victory and their second two-game winning streak of the season.
The Lady Tigers have a chance to put together their first three-game winning streak of the season on Monday evening when they host the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff. UAPB (4-11, 1-7) is coming a 77-57 loss to Grambling State, a team JSU defeated just over a week ago.
JSU has the opportunity to make a run and earn some wins at home against some of the best teams in the conference in the coming weeks as it looks to improve its standing heading into the tournament.
“I think each player is starting to understand each other’s significance and each other roles and we are trying to expose that,” Reed said.
Tipoff for Monday’s game is set for 5:30 p.m.
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