ATLANTA — Destiny Brown hollered “YEAA” at the top of her lungs after No. 6 seeded Alcorn State upset No. 3 Alabama A&M 56-53 in an HBCU women’s basketball thriller on Thursday in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) tournament.
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The Braves’ HBCU WBB star registered a double-double performance, finishing with 20 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two blocks to lift Alcorn (13-17, 10-8) to a semifinal matchup against Texas Southern (16-14, 14-4) on Friday. While Brown’s impact was certainly felt offensively in the game, the SWAC’s Defensive Player of the Year played an integral part in the Braves outrebounding the Bulldogs (40-29), including 25-18 on the defensive glass.
Destiny steps up
“Destiny [Brown] really made some big plays for us down the stretch when we needed her to,” said Braves head coach Nate Kilbert postgame after the Braves’ win. “But that’s what she’s been doing all year.”
Ironically, during the HBCU hoops regular season, Brown’s best performance came against Alabama A&M, where she notched a double-double and a season-high 25 points and 12 rebounds in the Braves’ win. Although Alcorn notched the win, Gilbert had doubts about his team overcoming moments of adversity throughout the contest.
In the third quarter, AAMU’s defensive pressure on the ball and its ability to generate steals played a big role in the Bulldogs outsourcing the Braves 20-12. Twelve of their total in the quarter came on fast-break opportunities. Alcorn also committed nine of its 26 turnovers in the third quarter.
But Gilbert’s team didn’t waver. The Braves flipped the script in the fourth quarter, holding the AAMU to 14 points on 33.3% shooting from the floor while Alcorn poured in 21 points off 6-of-11 shots from the field.
“… When we playing our best basketball is when we’re playing our best defense, when we lock it down on people,” Gilbert said.
The Braves also added five of their 13 total second chance points in the quarter due in part to Brown’s rebounding.
“In the second half, when they [Alabama A&M] came out with that pressure, I was getting in my head and my teammates right there telling me, like, we need you,” said Brown, who went scoreless in the third quarter. “… Basketball is a game of runs, so they’re going to make their run. We’re going to make our run, we have to stay level headed… I think my team did a great job of that., We kept our eyes on the prize.”
Alcorn will face Texas Southern on Friday at 11 am ET in the semi-final round of the 2025 SWAC Tournament at The Gateway Center Arena at College Park.