BATON ROUGE, La. | The Grambling State University women's basketball team fell victim to a cold-shooting spell in between the third and fourth quarters in dropping a 59-49 decision in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game on Saturday afternoon at the F.G. Clark Activity Center.
Grambling State (10-15 overall, 7-7 SWAC), which has now dropped three straight and was seeking its first regular-season sweep of Southern since the 2008-09 season, led 36-34 with 1:52 left in the third quarter. However, Southern (11-14, 9-5) outscored the Lady Tigers 25-13 over the final 11:52 to earn the win.
Alexus Holt paced Grambling State with 15 points, along with four rebounds, three assists and one steal. Justice Coleman added 13 points, three assists, two boards and one blocked shot.
Genovea Johnson led Southern with a game-high 22 points, including going 8-of-12 from the free-throw line. She also added six rebounds, two steals and one assist. Nakia Kincey registered a double-double of 11 points and 10 boards, along with two assists and two steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Grambling State jumped out to a 7-3 advantage after a Leah Morrow 3-pointer with 6:54 remaining in the opening quarter
- Southern rallied with a 6-2 run over the next two-plus minutes to tie the game at 9 after a layup by Diamond Hunter with just over four minutes left
- The Lady Tigers responded and took a 14-11 lead after a Justice Coleman layup with just under three minutes remaining
- Back came the Jaguars as Jordan Aikens bucket gave Southern a 16-15 advantage with 1:25 left in the first
- Southern extended the margin to 22-16 after a Hunter layup with 5:49 remaining in the second period
- Grambling State held Southern scoreless for more than five minutes as the Lady Tigers used an 8-0 run and took a 26-24 lead into the half
- The Lady Tigers pushed the advantage to 30-25 after an Ariel Williams 3-pointer with 7:08 remaining
- However, Southern answered and used a 9-2 run, capped by a Genovea Johnson jumper, to grab a 34-32 lead with just over three minutes left in the third
- The Jaguars got a jumper by Tyneisha Metcalf as Southern took a 39-36 advantage into the final quarter
- Southern opened the final period strong, using a 6-0 run, capped by a Amani McWain fastbreak layup as the Jaguars built a 45-36 lead with 7:51 remaining
- Baskets by Trasity Totten and Coleman cut the deficit to 50-45 with 3:44 left
- However, Southern got back-to-back layups by Johnson and Nakia Kincey to push the advantage to 54-45 with 2:03 remaining
- The game got chippy in the final minute as Grambling State never got any closer than seven points down the stretch
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Grambling State shot 38.5 percent (20-of-52) from the field and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from the free-throw line
- Alexus Holt registered 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal
- Justice Coleman poured in 13 points, three assists, two boards and one blocked shot
- The Lady Tigers finished with 30 points in the paint, 11 bench points, eight second-chance points, five fastbreak points and five points off seven Southern turnovers
- Southern shot 34.4 percent (22-of-64) from the field and 63.6 percent (14-of-22) from the charity stripe
- Genovea Johnson led the way for Southern with 22 points, six rebounds, two steals and one assist
- Nakia Kincey added 11 points, 10 boards, two assists and two steals
- The Jaguars finished with 28 points in the paint, 26 points off 22 Grambling State turnovers, 14 bench points, eight fastbreak points and five second-chance points
SWAC STANDINGS
- Grambling State entered the day seventh in the SWAC standings and two games ahead of Arkansas-Pine Bluff
- Southern began the day in a four-way tie for third, with Prairie View A&M, Alabama A&M and Texas Southern
- Jackson State currently sits four-games ahead of Alabama State in the top spot
- Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern hold tiebreakers over Grambling State by virtue of sweeping the season series
- Grambling State still has Alabama State and Alabama A&M remaining on the schedule
UP NEXT
Grambling State returns home for the final two regular season games at Willis Reed Court at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center. The Lady Tigers play host to Florida A&M on Saturday during Senior Day. Tip-off is set for Noon.
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