PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Jackson State University women's basketball continues to find ways to win, especially on the road during Southwestern Athletic Conference play.
After a tough defensive stand late in a one-point win at Texas Southern Saturday night, JSU had to overcome a hot-shooting, fast-starting Prairie View A&M team Monday night in the William J. "Billy" Nicks Building.
While the 91-76 final score in favor of the Lady Tigers appeared routine, it was anything but.
In scoring 20 of the games' first 29 points, the Panthers led 27-20 after one quarter, fueled by a barrage of three-pointers.
"They (PV) came out like the Golden State Warriors," said JSU head coach Tomekia Reed. "They were seven-of-10 from the three-point line, and we had to buckle down. What we had to do was put pressure on the ball, and make them get those shots off. Once our girls settled down, I thought we regained our composure. Prairie View is a hard place to play in. We just had to settle down and do what we do, which is defend. Defense caused us to get the victory tonight."
After that 20-9 start, JSU (18-6 overall, 16-0 SWAC) rolled in outscoring PV by 26 points in the final 34 minutes.
As the game went on, the Lady Tigers flexed their muscle, scoring 20, 21, 23, and 27 points in quarter-by-quarter scoring. Following Prairie View's 27-point first quarter, JSU held the Panthers to 49 points over the final 30 minutes.
Ameshya Williams-Holliday recorded her 18th double-double of the season with 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead four JSU players in double figures. Dayzsha Rogan scored 21 points, Keshuna Luckett scored 11 points, and Miya Crump added 10.
Trailing by seven after the opening quarter, the second quarter proved to be pivotal as the Lady Tigers outscored PV 21-12, limiting the Panthers to 5-of-18 shooting in the period. A 7-0 run to end the half concluded with a Williams-Holliday jumper prior to halftime to give JSU its first lead, 41-39, at the break.
The Lady Tigers continued the run in the final two quarters, shooting 53 percent from the field and, at one point, outscored PV 50-30 in the second half before Prairie View scored the game's final seven points.
"We are a very good scoring team, but we are even better defensively," Reed said. "We ran a defense tonight that we've never worked on in practice, and they executed. We caused turnovers (23, leading to 30 JSU points), and we caused Prairie View to take quick shots and rushed shots. So, we told players to crash the boards as they were rushing shots, so we just got after it defensively."
Jackson State returns home for the final two games of the regular season, Thursday at 5:30 p.m. vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and Saturday against Mississippi Valley State at 3 p.m. in the Williams Athletics and Assembly Center.
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