HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A pair of extended runs in both halves and a balanced scoring attack were the hallmarks as Alabama A&M (0-0, 0-0 SWAC) opened the 2022-23 campaign with a 67-44 exhibition victory at Alabama-Huntsville (0-0, 0-0 GSC) in an NCAA Division women's basketball game on Wednesday, November 2.
Graduate forward Amani Free (Clay, N.Y.) led the way for the Bulldogs with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, while sophomore guard Toni Grace (Fishers, Ind.) and junior forward Ikia Elam (Pontiac, Mich.) each finished with nine points on the night.
Junior center Jayla Cody (Valdosta, Ga.) ripped down eight boards to go with five points and sophomore guards Shaunice Reed (Seattle, Wash.) and Amiah Simmons (Osawatomie, Kan.) had eight and seven points, respectively.
The Bulldogs would open with a 7-2 burst before UAH came back to knot it up early at 7-7 and 9-9, the latter at the 4:10 mark. From there, however, Reed would power a 10-0 run with half of those points to stake A&M to a 19-9 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the opening frame. The Chargers would stem the tide with a mini 4-0 run to pull to within six after the first 10 minutes.
They would get no closer than that though as Alabama A&M steadily built their lead out to 28-15 just 2:28 into the second quarter. Back-to-back buckets by Haley Nichols cut it to a nine-point margin but A&M would have the answer once again. Over the final 6:20 of the half they would lock in defensively, allowing just one basket on their way to a 34-21 halftime lead.
The teams would trade the first six buckets of the third period but that would mean just treading water for UAH until Andie Flatgard connected on a triple to make it 41-30 with 7:23 on the clock. Both teams would go cold as the score remained that way over the next 2:28 before a Haelim Adle layup cut it to nine.
A three-pointer by Reed would then ignite a decisive 14-4 run that spanned the quarter break and extended A&M's lead to 55-36 just over two minutes into the fourth. Following a lay in by Jirah Rogers the clubs would experience another scoring drought, this one more extreme from the 7:30 mark to 3:37. It would be the Bulldogs that would come out of it first as they doubled up the Chargers, 12-6, to put the finishing touches on the 67-44 exhibition victory.
Haley led all scorers with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting to go with six boards, two steals and a pair of assists to pace UAH. She was joined by Alexis Woods with eight points and Flatgard with six points and four assists. Adle rounded out the top performers with six points, three caroms and two assists.
The Bulldogs will see what they are made of early on as they open the regular season at in-state foe Alabama on Monday, November 7. Game time is set for 5 p.m. in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
