BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | The Grambling State University women's basketball team was eliminated in the semifinal round of the 2021 Cricket Wireless Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Women's Basketball Tournament with a 65-49 loss to Jackson State in Bartow Arena.

Grambling (10-10 overall, 8-6 SWAC) trailed 12-9 at the end of the opening quarter, but managed just six points in the second quarter as they trailed 30-15 at the break. However, the Grambling offense exploded to a 27-point third quarter to close the gap to just five points entering the final quarter.

"The game was hard fought from start to finish," said Grambling State head coach Freddie Murray. "They jumped out on us early and built a cushion, so we had to play from behind. The first half wasn't a half that we wanted to play, but we came back out in the second half and made a gallant effort. It was just too little too late."

Senior Alexus Holt led Grambling with 10 points on 5-of-16 shooting from the field and added three assists and three steals in 39 minutes of action while fellow senior Justice Coleman chipped in with nine points and seven boards in the loss.

Ameysha Williams led Jackson State with 24 points and 22 rebounds.

"We didn't do a good job of keeping a body on Williams; she dominated with a double-double on the inside and that was the turning point in the game," explained Murray.

Grambling finished the season 10-10 overall and 8-6 in SWAC play.



"After the season we had last year, to come back and finish in fourth and make it to the semifinals says a lot about our program," stated Murray. "We have to fill some holes in certain positions, but we will be back, I assure you that."

In an unprecedented year filled with game cancellations, postponements, and vigorous testing for the women's basketball travel staff, including players and coaches, the Lady Tigers not only survived, but made a run that resulted in one game away from the conference championship.

"I'm not going to lie, this season was a challenge," Coach Murray stated. "We didn't have an off-season, we didn't have summer workouts, we started preseason late and we had to shut down a total of three times during the season. And during those shutdowns, you can't practice or do anything, so you are kind of pushing the reset button every time we had a shutdown. It's been an up-and-down year, and I applaud our young ladies for being resilient, going through everything that they had to go through this year. To make it this far, I think it is a testament to their will and determination to want to get better and want to win. We'll take some time off and then we will be ready to start again next year."



 

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