LORMAN, Miss. – Alabama A&M women's basketball (5-8, 3-0 SWAC) continued their strong play on the road on Saturday afternoon as they took down Alcorn State, 63-56, inside of the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
 
The game started slowly on both ends, as the Braves opened the scoring at the 7:40 mark of the first quarter. The Bulldogs got on the board nearly a minute later but trailed 6-3 at the first timeout at the halfway point of the opening period.
 
Alabama A&M took an 11-8 lead after a three-pointer from Amani Free (Clay, N.Y.), yet saw the score tied again on the next trip down after a response from Alcorn State. From there, the Bulldogs finished the quarter strong, leading 13-11 after the first.
 
The second quarter saw both teams hold the advantage with four lead changes and a pair of ties, yet the Bulldogs led for seven minutes of play in the frame. A&M forced five turnovers in the period, scoring seven points off the errors, along with four fast break points and led 31-28 at the half.
 
A&M extended their lead in the top half of the third quarter, going up eight at 36-28 at the first media timeout after a three from Taylor Smith (Fosters, Ala.) and fast break score from Amiah Simmons (Osawatomie, Kan.). The Braves responded out of the break, scoring on consecutive possessions, before getting within a single point, but still trailed heading into the fourth 42-36.
 
The Bulldogs held onto their lead in the final quarter, gaining an 11-point edge with 4:29 remaining after another score from Simmons. After the last media timeout, A&M continued to put points on the board, fighting off multiple efforts from Alcorn State to pick up the road conference win.
 
The Bulldogs performed well in all of points of major emphasis, outscoring their opponent in bench points (18-16), fast break points (15-5), points in the paint (30-26), points off turnovers (12-8), and second chance points (12-9). They also finished with shooting marks of 37 (20-for-54) percent from the field, 25 (4-for-16) percent from long range, and 79.2 (19-for-24) percent from the free throw line, while Alcorn State finished with splits of 37.7 (20-for-53) percent from the field, 22.2 (2-for-9) from three, and 66.7 (14-for-21) percent from the free throw line.
 
Free led the way for Alabama A&M with a game-high 22 points and eight rebounds, followed by Simmons, finishing with ten points and five rebounds on the afternoon. Meanwhile, Destiny Brown led Alcorn State with 19 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, the lone double figure scorer for the Braves.
 
Up Next
The Bulldogs will remain on the road for their next contest as they face Jackson State on Monday, January 9. Tip-off has been set for 5:30 p.m. inside of the Lee E. Williams Athletic & Assembly Center.
 
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