HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – It took two extra sessions and 18 years but Alabama A&M (15-13, 13-5 SWAC) locked up second place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) with a 73-67 double overtime victory over Southern (13-16, 11-7 SWAC) in an NCAA Division I women's basketball game on Saturday, March 5.
 
The victory earns them the No. 2 seed in the 2022 SWAC Tournament next week, something the program has not accomplished since the 2004-05 season. The 13 league wins also marks the most ever by the Bulldogs since joining the SWAC in 1999-2000 and the seven straight victories are the most since joining DI at that time.
 
Graduate guard Nigeria Jones (Lincoln, Neb.) lit it up for a game-high 28 points, going 10-of-12 from the foul line and added four assists and five steals while senior forward Dariauna Lewis (Omaha, Neb.) finished with 19 points, 11 boards, two steals and a pair of blocks. Senior center Jada Clowers (Macon, Ga.) delivered a career-high 17 caroms to go with eight points and three assists to round out the top performers.
 
Southern wasted no time as they jumped out to a 12-6 lead by the 6:10 mark before the Bulldogs clawed back to within 15-13 behind a 7-2 run culminating at the 1:55 mark. From there, however, the teams would be nearly even as SU headed to the second with a 19-16 advantage.
 
That frame would see the Jaguars extend their lead to 24-17 by the 7:06 mark before A&M got their feet under them. Over the next 2:37 the Bulldogs would go on an 11-0 run as Jones dropped in four of those to flip the script and pull ahead 28-24. Amani McWain then knocked down a three to help bring Southern within one, a margin they would see twice more before hitting the break with the Bulldogs holding a 33-31 lead.
 
Over the first 4:46 the teams would battle through three ties and a lead change as SU pulled ahead 44-39 by the 5:04 mark. From there A&M used a 9-4 burst to deadlock at 48-48, with five of those in a row at the end of the frame.
 
They would maintain that momentum in the fourth as a triple by Jones ignited an 8-1 run to make it 13 of the last 14 points and give Alabama A&M a 56-49 lead with 5:12 to play. It would continue to be a game of runs, however, as the Jaguars answered with a 9-0 run of their own to take a 58-56 lead with 1:54 remaining. Just 21 seconds later Lewis would corral a miss under the hoop and put it back up to tie it – a bucket that would send the teams to overtime tied at 58-58.
 
That extra session would see a driving layup by Lewis for a two-point lead before Nakia Kincey drained a long ball for a 61-60 Southern lead at 4:26. Lewis would then come through again, this time of a dish from Jones, to retake the lead but Genovea Johnson responded with a bucket of her own, continuing the string of lead changes, this time 63-62 for the Jaguars.
 
Taneara Moore would add a layup with two minutes to play for a three-point lead before Jones notched a layup 19 seconds later and a game-tying free throw at 1:27. That 65-65 score would not move as the teams traded missed shots and A&M missed a pair of late free throws to head to a second extra period.
 
That final overtime would be all Bulldogs with Lewis dropping in a bucket off a pass from Jones, Clowers knocking down a pair at the foul line and Lewis and Jones combining for three free throws to take a 72-65 lead with 1:26 to play. A layup by Diamond Hunter cut it to five but a lockdown defense and one more point from the line then closed out the 73-67 victory.
 
McWain led SU with 23 points and six boards, along with three steals, while Johnson finished with 19 points, five caroms and three steals. Kincey added eight points and Tyeneisha Metcalf dished out a game-high five assists.
 
Having locked up the No. 2 seed with the victory, A&M will head to Birmingham, Alabama for the 2022 SWAC Tournament beginning on Wednesday, March 9. Their opponent is yet to be officially determined but appears likely to be Grambling based upon their head-to-head losses to Prairie View during the regular season.
 
NOTES
This marks only the second official time that Alabama A&M has finished second in the SWAC … the only other time was in 2004-05 … the 2011-12 team did so but those records were since vacated by the NCAA.
 
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