The SWAC Tournament has already seen an HBCU upset as the No. 9 seed Mississippi Valley State Devilettes secured a 68-65 overtime victory over the No. 8 seed Florida A&M Rattlers. The game, held at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia, marked the fourth win in a row for Mississippi Valley State.
MVSU entered the tournament with a 7-22 overall record and a 6-12 mark in SWAC play, while Florida A&M stood at 9-20 overall and 6-12 in the conference. FAMU won by 28 points in the only regular-season matchup between the two schools. The Devilettes tied the game at 57 with 38 seconds remaining when Jaylia Reed leaked out for an uncontested layup after a missed FAMU jumper. The Rattlers missed an opportunity to retake the lead after a missed jumper from Sabou Gueye with 19 seconds remaining. Valley missed two shots in the final three seconds, leading to the overtime.
In overtime, Mississippi Valley State dominated from the free throw line to seal the win. The Devilettes shot 7-8 from the line in the final frame, while FAMU failed to get to the line.
Leading the charge for Mississippi Valley State was Reed who scored a team-high 18 points, including going 3-8 on three-point shots. Junior guard D’Yanna Maxey scored 14 points while Clemisha Prackett scored 16 points and pulled down 8 rebounds.
On the defensive end, Mississippi Valley State employed a stifling press that disrupted Florida A&M’s offensive rhythm and forced 20 turnovers. The Rattlers also struggled from the three-point line, going 3-16 for a paltry 18 percent.
This victory propels Mississippi Valley State into the quarterfinals, where they will face the top-seeded Southern Jaguars, who finished the regular season with a 15-3 conference record. Mississippi Valley State, perpetually one of the worst teams in HBCU and college basketball, have been on a hot streak as of late. It lost its first nine SWAC games to start the season and was just 2-12 in conference play as the calendar turned to march.
For Florida A&M, the loss marks the end of their tournament run for second-year coach Bridgette Gordon. FAMU has only made the SWAC Tournament twice, both under Gordon.
Both first-round women’s games in the 2025 SWAC basketball tournament went into overtime.