HOUSTON, Texas – Senior forward Dariauna Lewis (Omaha, Neb.) keyed the game clinching run as part of an epic performance as Alabama A&M (5-11, 3-3 SWAC) pulled off a 71-67 come-from-behind victory at Texas Southern (3-11, 3-4 SWAC) in an NCAA Division I women's basketball game on Saturday, January 22.
 
Lewis fueled the Bulldogs effort with 26 points, 18 rebounds, three blocks, two assists and a pair of steals while graduate guard Nigeria Jones (Lincoln, Neb.) dropped 20 points to go with four assists and a steal in 39 minutes of action.
 
Graduate forward Teliyah Jeter (Taylors, S.C.) just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine caroms, six of which came off the offensive glass, along with three blocks and two steals and sophomore guard Darian Burgin (Cincinnati, Ohio) added six points, three steals and as many boards.
 
Trailing by two early, A&M would pull ahead 5-4 on a three by Jones with just over three minutes gone by before TSU put together a 10-1 run behind four different scorers to take a 14-6 lead by the 3:37 mark. The Bulldogs would recover quickly, however, as they mounted an 8-2 run with four points each from Lewis and Jones to close the opening period trailing just 16-14.
 
The Tigers would bounce back at the start of the second as they extended their lead to 22-16 and 24-19, the latter by the 5:06 mark. After a mini 3-0 run brought them to within two, TSU expanded their lead once again, this time to 32-24 with 2:35 left in the half. The Bulldogs would not allow that margin to get out of hand, however, as they narrowed the gap to 34-31 before heading to the break down just 37-33.
 
With the score at 40-35 just over a minute into the third period, Texas Southern stretched their lead to 10 behind a 15-5 burst, taking a 55-45 advantage by the 3:02 mark. Things would change dramatically at that point, however, as A&M put together a 10-2 run to close the frame as five different players scored to cut it to 57-55 as the clubs headed to the fourth.
 
TSU would score the first four points of the quarter for a six-point lead before Jeter, Burgin and Lewis led a 6-0 stretch to tie it at 61-61 with 6:43 to play. A layup by Andriana Avent then gave the Tigers back the lead but it would be short lived as Alabama A&M scored 10 of the final 14 points, eight straight by Lewis, to take that two-point deficit and turn it into a 71-67 victory.
 
Jada Perry was dominant for the Tigers, recording a double-double of 15 points and 14 boards to go with two steals and a pair of blocks while Ataiya Bridges finished with 12 points, four assists, three caroms and two steals. Avent added 10 points and Shalexxus Aaron had nine points and four assists. Alisa Knight rounded out the top performers with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting.
 
The Bulldogs are right back in action on Monday, January 24 as they wrap up their Texas road trip at Prairie View. Tip-off is set 5:30 p.m. in Prairie View, Texas.
 
NOTES
The win marks the third straight for A&M over Texas Southern, a stretch that began with a season sweep last year.