• In a meeting of two top four teams in the conference, the Lady Tigers of Texas Southern came out strong, going up 8-2 in the first three minutes of the game. The Lady Bulldogs continued to struggle going forward, finding themselves down 12-6 with 5:23 to play in the quarter after two free throws by Jameica Cobb. Texas Southern responded with a 9-0 run to go up 21-6, and finished the quarter with the momentum, leading 26-12 going into the second.
• The second quarter began similar to the first, with the Lady Tigers going up 30-16 with 8:13 to play. Just over midway through the quarter, A&M began to claw back, eventually getting the deficit down to 35-27 at the 5:06 mark. The Lady Bulldogs continued their run, climbing within a single point with two and a half minutes left in the half, and taking a 39-37 lead after a three by Nigeria Jones with a minute remaining. After outscoring Texas Southern 27-13 in the second quarter, Alabama A&M went into the locker room for halftime leading 41-39.
• The teams opened the second half trading baskets before the Lady Tigers tied the game at 43 with 9:14 to play in the quarter. Jameica Cobb made a big defensive play by drawing an offensive foul, and later broke the tie on an offensive rebound and put back on the next trip down the floor. After finding the ball game tied once again at 49, the Lady Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run spanning two minutes, to push their lead to 57-49 with 3:44 to go in the quarter. Following a basket by Texas Southern, A&M went on another six-point run before ending the quarter leading 67-55, their largest lead of the game.
• Texas Southern opened the final quarter with a three pointer to get the lead back under ten points, before the teams traded baskets at the 8:18 mark to go, before the Lady Tigers called a timeout with the Lady Bulldogs leading 69-60. After another three by the Tigers, junior Tierra Dark silenced the crowd with a jumper in the lane to go back up eight points at 71-63. After falling down 75-66, the Lady Tigers scored six unanswered to close the gap to 75-72 with 3:22 to play, and made a defensive stop coming out of an A&M timeout but could not score on their next possession. The Tigers later converted on two free throws with 1:21 to play to make it a one-point game, and forced another turnover and got back to the free throw line, where they made both and took a 76-75 lead with 1:13 to play. The Lady Bulldogs failed to convert on a close shot with 18 seconds to play, forcing them to send the Tigers back to the line where they gained a 78-75 lead. On the next A&M possession, DeShawna Harper was fouled on a three with 5.8 seconds remaining. Harper missed the first and made the second, however failed to hit the rim on the final shot, giving Texas Southern the ball back up 78-76. After fouling with 4.3 seconds to play, Texas Southern made one of two free throws, forcing A&M to travel the length of the floor to tie, however Jones missed a half-court shot at the buzzer to fall 79-76.

Post-Game Notes

• Alabama A&M starters: Nigeria Jones, Tierra Dark, Jameica Cobb, Dariauna Lewis, Lazurea Saunders
• The Lady Bulldogs shot 29-for-60 (48.3 percent) from the field as a team for the game, 2-for-10 (20 percent) from the three-point line and 16-for-23 from the charity stripe (69.6 percent).
• Alabama A&M won the battle of the painted area, outscoring Texas Southern 46-40 in the lane during the contest.
• The Lady Bulldogs were outrebounded by the Lady Tigers in the matchup 38-29. A&M grabbed seven offensive boards for five second chance points, while Texas Southern grabbed 11 offensive boards for 11 second chance points.
• The A&M bench outscored the Lady Tiger bench 24-8 in the matchup. Harper led all bench scorers with 14 points.
• Turnovers: Turnovers were a key component in the ball game, as the Lady Bulldogs forced their opponent into 20 turnovers and scored 19 points off the miscues. A&M turned the ball over 19 times and allowed 25 points off of their mistakes. 

Up Next­
The Lady Bulldogs will remain in Houston to face Prairie View A&M on Monday at 5:30 p.m. before heading back home for their last home stretch of the season.

For more information on the Lady Bulldog basketball team, follow the Bulldogs on Twitter (@aamuwbb) and Instagram (@aamuwbb). For more on all Bulldogs sports teams, follow the official social media accounts of AAMU Athletics on Twitter (@AAMUBulldogs), Facebook (Facebook.com/aamubulldogs) and Instagram (@AAMUathletics).