TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A jumper with just over a second remaining gave Florida A&M a 69-67 overtime win over Alabama A&M on Saturday afternoon in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) women's matchup held inside of the Al Lawson Center. The Bulldogs (8-10, 6-2 SWAC) dropped just their second game in the last nine outings, despite leading for nearly 20 minutes of action.
 
A&M jumped out to 5-2 lead early with a technical free throw followed by scores from Jayla Cody (Valdosta, Ga.) and Taylor Smith (Fosters, Ala.), prior to four ties and four lead changes as the teams went back-and-forth heading into the media timeout at the 4:20-mark with the Bulldogs holding a 12-11 edge.
 
The teams remained tight coming out of the break, as Florida A&M took a short lead with just under three minutes to go that was followed by the Bulldogs regaining the lead with a paint score from Amiah Simmons (Osawatomie, Kan.) to go up 15-13 seconds later.
 
From there, the Rattlers closed out the opening quarter strong, holding A&M scoreless for the remainder as they finished the frame with an 8-0 run to lead 21-15 heading into the second.
 
Both sides responded to runs early in the second, however Florida A&M gained a double-digit advantage at 30-20 heading into the break at the four-minute mark.
 
The Bulldogs came out of the media timeout on a tear, as Darian Burgin (Cincinnati, Ohio) sank a three to reduce the lead to six with just over two minutes to go in the half, followed by scores on consecutive offensive trips from Simmons to pull A&M within two points at the half at 31-29.
 
Burgin tied the ball game at the 8:46 mark with a score off a turnover to spark an 8-2 run for Alabama A&M in the third, helping gain a 37-33 lead with just over seven minutes to play. Minutes later after the media break, Florida A&M tied the game yet again, this time at 37-37, however the Bulldogs closed the quarter strong to head into the fourth up 45-39.
 
The Bulldogs held onto a 51-44 lead minutes into the fourth and five at the halfway point of the period at 53-48. Following the break, Florida A&M began to claw back into the game as they found themselves down just two after an inside score with a minute to play.
 
The Rattlers forced an A&M turnover on the next trip down and sank a pair of free throws after a drawn foul with under ten seconds to go to force overtime with the score 61-61.
 
A&M gave up a pair of scores early in the overtime to find themselves down four at 65-61 before tying the contest at 65-65 after free throws from Burgin and a layup from Amani Free (Clay, N.Y.). Later in the period with the score tied at 67-67 after free throws from Toni Grace (Fishers, Ind.), Florida A&M converted in the paint for the final score with minimal time remaining to finish the overtime victory.
 
Free led the offense for the Bulldogs with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Burgin and Grace who both added 14 points on the day. Meanwhile, Cody and Simmons both finished near the double-double mark, as Cody finished with eight points and seven boards, while Simmons added eight points and nine rebounds in the loss.
 
Meanwhile, Alabama A&M finished the game with shooting splits of 36.7 (22-for-60) percent from the field, 35.3 (6-for-17) percent from long range, and 81 (17-for-21) percent from the free throw line. In comparison, the Rattlers finished with marks of 38.6 (27-for-70) percent from the floor, 15.4 (2-for-13) percent from deep, and 81.3 (13-for-16) percent from the charity stripe from the Rattlers.
 
Up Next
Alabama A&M remains in the state of Florida for their next matchup as they face Bethune-Cookman inside Moore Gymnasium at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, January 30.
 
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