HUNTSVILLE, Ala. | The trio of Darian Burgin, Amiah Simmons and Kaylah Turner helped the Alabama A&M University women's basketball team to its 13^th straight home victory on Sunday at the AAMU Event Center with a 62-44 win over South Carolina State.

Alabama A&M (4-3) led by 11 entering the second half but used a 19-point third quarter to pull away and secure the blowout victory.

Both Burgin and Simmons both paced AAMU in scoring with team-highs of 15 points. Burgin shot 6-of-10, also with talling three rebounds, three assists and one steal. Simmons, who shot 6-of-12, put up five assists, three rebounds, and three steals. Turner chipped in 14 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block.

 Morgan Beacham recorded a team-high six points, one rebound and one assist to lead South Carolina State (1-9). Jhaven Meade tallied four points, two rebounds and one assist.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Alabama A&M got out of the gate quickly, racing out to a 12-2 advantage after a Burgin bucket just six minutes into the opening quarter.

However, South Carolina State cut the lead to five after a 7-2 run, capped  by a jumper from Meade, trimming the deficit to 14-9 at the end of the first period.

AAMU stretched its lead, on the heels of a 10-2 run,  to 24-11 after a layup from Kailyn Nash with 5:57 left in the half.

Alabama A&M kept the margin at 13 (30-17) after a jumper by Simmons with 3:11 left in the second period.

SCSU closed the gap 32-21 after a layup and jumper from Jada Morgan right before the break.

In the first four minutes of the second half, AAMU used an 8-2 run after a jumper from Turner, pushing the advantage to 40-23.

Alabama A&M used a 10-4 run to extend its lead to 50-27 after a mid-range jumper by Alisha Wilson with 1:54 remaining in the third.

The lead grew to as many as 24 points (51-27) after a Turner free throw with just over a minute to play, but South Carolina State scored the next four points, cutting the deficit to 51-31 after three quarters.

South Carolina State never got closer than 14 points, 54-40, during the final period, allowing Alabama A&M to pull away with the victory.
 

GAME NOTES  

• Alabama A&M shot 42.9 percent (24-of-56) from the floor and 78.6 percent (11-of-14) from the charity stripe
• AAMU pulled down 33 rebounds, with 21 coming off the defensive glass
• Darian Burgin recorded 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal
• Amiah Simmons tallied 15 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals
• Kaylah Turner chipped in 14 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block
• AAMU finished with 32 points in the paint, 14 bench points, 14 points off 18 SCSU turnovers, 13 second-chance points and nine fastbreak points
• South Carolina State went 18-of-48 shooting (37.5 percent) and 70 percent and (7-of-10) from the free-throw line
• SCSU recorded 31 rebounds, with 21 coming off the defensive glass
• Morgan Beacham posted a team-high six points, one rebound and an assist
• Jhaven Meade tallied four points, two blocks and one rebound
• South Carolina State finished with 30 bench points, 22 points in the paint, nine points off 11 AAMU turnovers, five second-chance points and two fastbreak points

UP NEXT

Alabama A&M begins a stretch of four straight road games before returning home for a non-conference game against Central Arkansas on Dec. 29. The Bulldogs begin the road swing on Thursday at Kansas City. Tip-off against the Roos is set for 7 p.m. from the Swinney Center and will be streamed on the Summit League Network.

For complete coverage of Alabama A&M Athletics, check out the official homepage at www.aamusports.com. Remember to follow us on social media: Instagram (@aamuathletics) and Twitter (@_aamuathletics).