TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Faced with a team playing for their postseason lives, Alabama A&M (12-13, 10-5 SWAC) delivered a 68-57 victory as they took down Florida A&M (3-22, 4-11 SWAC) in an NCAA Division I women's basketball game on Monday, February 21.
 
Sophomore guard Darian Burgin (Cincinnati, Ohio) flirted with a triple-double, finishing with seven points and career-highs of 11 boards and seven assists while senior forward Dariauna Lewis (Omaha, Neb.) chalked up another double-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
 
Graduate guard Nigeria Jones (Lincoln, Neb.) finished with a team-high 19 points to go with five caroms, two steals and a pair of assists and freshman guard Zhordan Shannon (Smyrna, Tenn.) had 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and graduate forward Kierra Johnson-Graham (Atlanta, Ga.) came away with six points and seven rebounds.
 
With the score tied at 2-2 in the very early going, A&M took full control as they mounted a 9-0 run in just 2:19 that featured four different scorers. That gave them an 11-2 lead by the 5:28 mark and, following a jumper by FAMU's Tia Bradshaw little more than a minute later, neither team could find the net over the next 3:18.
 
That would change with just over a minute left on the clock as the clubs traded six free throws to see the Bulldogs with a 15-6 lead at the end of the frame. A pair of Johnson-Graham buckets in the opening 1:37 would push that advantage to 19-6 before the teams experienced another lengthy stretch of offensive struggles, this time for a span of 2:47.
 
When it ended it would be with three points from the Rattlers to cut the deficit to 19-9 by the 5:19 mark. From there the teams would be nearly dead even with them essentially splitting 15 points over the last half of the quarter to stake A&M to a 27-16 lead at the break.
 
Things would change dramatically in the third period, however, as Anisja Harris knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to ignite a 16-2 run that would see Eliya Ellis score seven points. That lightning quick burst took Florida A&M from down 11 to up 32-29 by the 5:52 mark.
 
A traditional three-point play by Lewis knotted it up seconds later, and while a Harris jumper would deliver another lead change, it would swing right back to A&M with a 10-0 run that put them up 40-34 with 3:51 left in the quarter. The Rattlers would get to within three points with two minutes left in the frame before the teams headed to the fourth with the score at 46-40.
 
Undaunted, FAMU would not go away as they scored seven straight points, five by Alexis Roberts, to retake the lead at 47-46 with just over a minute gone by. From there, however, it would be all Bulldogs as they scored the next nine to flip the script and pull back ahead at 56-47 with 5:31 remaining. The Rattlers would get within six before A&M used a 7-0 run to put things out of reach enroute to a 68-57 victory.
 
Harris led all scorers with 21 points and dished out three assists and Ellis finished with 15 points and eight boards while going 9-of-12 from the foul line. Bradshaw and Roberts each added eight points to round out the top performers.
 
The Bulldogs return home to Elmore Gymnasium for their biggest game of the year as they host archrival Alabama State at the friendly confines on Saturday, February 26. Tip-off is set 2 p.m.
 
NOTES
Burgin topped her previous career-high of nine rebounds, set three times previously, as well as her former best for assists – five – which she had done twice.