JACKSON – Senior Christina Ellis dropped a game-high 35 points to lead Jackson State past Alabama State 75-59 Tuesday evening in the first round of the SWAC tournament.
 
The Lady Tigers advance to the semi-final round Friday and will match-up with Prairie View at 6 p.m. at Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham. The game will be available on ESPN3.
 
The Lady Tigers won the game in front of the basket. JSU scored 34 points in the paint and out-rebounded ASU 38-30.
 
Junior Marneisha Hamer scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds.
 
Collectively, the Lady Tigers rebounded well as a team.
 
Junior Sumer Williams picked up seven rebounds, junior Kaisah Lucky added six and Ellis added five off the glass.
 
Freshman Taylor Lattimore added seven points and converted a pair of trey balls.
 
As a team, JSU shot 47.1 percent (24-of-51) from the field and went 24-of-34 from the free-throw line.
 
Ellis was also key on the defensive end and finished with a game-high six steals. Aside from Ellis, the Lady Tigers were active on defense and forced 21 turnovers, which was turned into 24 points.