Jones pours in 15, Women's Basketball surges past Tennessee State

Women's Basketball 11/13/2018 2:54:00 PM aamusportsinfo

Jones pours in 15, Women's Basketball surges past Tennessee State

Box Score HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Nigeria Jones walked off the floor with a smile stretched wide across her face.

For Jones and her Alabama A&M women's basketball teammates, it was a moment to celebrate.

Winning home-openers tend to have that effect.

Jones poured in 15 points as Alabama A&M used a second-half surge to top Tennessee State 67-57 Tuesday afternoon in a non-conference game.

"Our team has a lot to be excited about," Jones said. "Everyone played well. We executed our game plan and pulled out a nice win here on our home floor."

Alabama A&M (1-1) needed a strong second-half performance to win its home-opener.

Several Alabama A&M players delivered for the home crowd.

Tennessee State (0-2) led 31-30 at halftime, but the Tigers never could build a comfortable cushion.

Jones and company took control of the game in the fourth period.

Alabama A&M opened the final period with an 8-2 run before Carnethia Brown drained a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs an eight-point lead with 1:53 remaining in the game.

"I thought our team showed a lot of composure," Alabama A&M coach Margaret Richards said. "Sometimes you look out there and forget that this is a young team, with a lot of freshmen and sophomores. But these young players are showing progress. It's a lot to be excited about."

Alabama A&M's two freshmen post players were significant factors.

Elexis Evans, a 6-foot-3 center, scored 12 points while grabbing eight rebounds. Chinelo Lucy Ibeh finished with nine points and nine rebounds.

Lazurea Saunders added 14 points for Alabama A&M.

Alabama A&M hosts Lipscomb on Thursday at 6 p.m.

"This definitely is something we can build on," Richards said. "We work these players hard because we have high expectations for them, and we want to them to have high expectations for themselves.

"Winning today was exciting. Winning is fun. But it's also something we can use to help us get better. Every time we step on that floor, we expect to improve as a team so we can continue to work toward our big-picture goals."

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Players Mentioned

#21 Carnethia Brown: G; 5' 6"; Junior

#32 Elexis Evans: F; 6' 3"; Redshirt Freshman

#5 Nigeria Jones: PG; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#20 Lazurea Saunders: F; 5' 11"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#21 Carnethia Brown
: 5' 6"; Junior
: G

#32 Elexis Evans
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Freshman
: F

#5 Nigeria Jones
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: PG

#20 Lazurea Saunders
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: F