HUNTSVILLE ^__ The Alabama A&M women's basketball program will look to earn a third win against Alcorn State on Tuesday in Elmore Gymnasium in an effort to advance to the SWAC Tournament Semifinal in Birmingham this weekend.

The fourth-seeded Lady Bulldogs (16-13, 12-6 SWAC) have made the tournament for the second consecutive year and will host fifth-seeded Lady Braves (13-19, 9-9 SWAC) in the opening round. Alabama A&M fell on the road to Prairie View 69-56 in their last appearance in the SWAC Tournament to end the 2018-19 season. The last time these two programs battled in the SWAC Tournament was following the 2013-14 regular season with Alabama A&M prevailing on a neutral site in Houston, 64-62.

The Lady Bulldogs have played inside-out basketball all season and have taken care of the ball offensively, giving up the least amount of turnovers (478) and having the best assist-to-turnover ratio (0.75) in the conference. The team is also second in the SWAC in opponent points per game (60.4) and rebounds per game (39.3).

The duo of DeShawna Harper and Dariuana Lewis have been a lethal scoring duo all year, and both rank in the top seven in scoring in the conference.

Player of the Year candidate Dariauna Lewis put up season averages of 16.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in just under 29 minutes of play per game. Her numbers place her second in points and blocks per game and third in rebounds per contest in the SWAC.

Harper leads the squad from the outside, making a career-high 52 three-point field goals so far on the year, good for second in the conference. The junior guard is seventh in the conference in points per game (13.7) and 11th in steals (2.0 per game).

Alcorn State University will look to avenge its two regular season losses to the Lady Bulldogs earlier in the season. The Lady Braves hold a top-20 ranking in the nation for turnover margin (5.60). Alcorn is also ranked in the top-three in the SWAC for assists (370), offensive rebounds per game (14.6), rebounds (1079) and three-point field goal defense (29.6).

Guard LaRae Rascoe leads the team with 11.1 points per game, while sophomore Diamond Hall leads the team in rebounding at 5.3 per game and adds 6.4 points a night of her own.

Bulldog Bites

• Coach Margaret Richards and her Lady Bulldogs earned a fourth seed in this year's SWAC standings, the program's highest finish since the 2011-12 season.
• A win Tuesday would not only set a new record for Division I wins in a season, but it would also give the team their best win total in a season since 2011-12.
• After setting the school rebounding record, forward Dariauna Lewis has claimed another title in program history, setting a new mark for field goals made, with 176 on the year, passing the 174 made by 2015-16 Lady Bulldog Janie Myles. 
• Lewis also recently passed former Lady Bulldog Brittany Stickland for second in the record books for points in a season, currently with 484 total points and averaging 16.7 per game.
• Guard DeShawna Harper continues to move up the three-point rankings, as she has now made 52 three pointers, tied for second, needing only three more long range field goals to break the single season record of 55.

Up Next
The Lady Bulldogs are looking to advance to take on the winner of #1 Jackson State and #8 Alabama State on Friday, March 13 in Bartow Arena in Birmingham at noon.

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).