BATON ROUGE, La. | Kaylah Turner poured in a game-high 20 points as the Alabama A&M University women's basketball team could not recover from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit as the Bulldogs fell to Southern, 67-60, in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game on Saturday afternoon at the F.G. Clark Activity Center.
 
Alabama A&M (10-12 overall, 5-5 SWAC) led by as many as five points in the first third period, but Southern (8-13, 6-4) answered and took its largest lead, 63-50, with just under five minutes to play. The Bulldogs tried to rally down the stretch, but could not complete the come-from-behind victory.
 
Turner finished just one point shy of matching her career high, with 20 points, five rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot. Amiah Simmons added 16 points, four boards, three steals and two assists, while Victoria Dixon came off the bench to provide 10 points, two assists and one rebound.
 
Aleighyah Fontenot led Southern with 15 points, five rebounds and a pair of assists. Taylor Williams tossed in 14 points, three boards, two assists and two steals, and Genovea Johnson tallied 11 points, six boards and three steals. Raven White added 10 points and seven boards.              
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Southern jumped out to a 12-8 lead after a Sirviva Legions jumper with 2:51 remaining in the opening quarter
• Alabama A&M answered with an 8-2 run to close out the period as the Bulldogs took a 16-14 advantage into the second
• AAMU stretched the lead to 18-14 just 27 seconds in the second period after a Dixon layup
• The Jaguars responded and got a layup by Johnson, giving Southern a 22-20 advantage with 5:30 remaining
• The Bulldogs used an 8-3 run over the next three minutes, capped by a Simmons triple as AAMU grabbed a 28-25 lead with 2:38 left
• Southern closed the gap to 32-31 after a Fontenot trey with 1:14 remaining, but Turner's layup sent the Bulldogs into the break with a 34-31 advantage
• Alabama A&M pushed the margin to 36-31 with 9:39 left in the third, but Southern slowed reeled the Bulldogs in, tying the game at 40 after a Williams layup with 6:50 remaining and Fontenot's bucket gave SU a 42-40 lead nine seconds later
• The Bulldogs got a layup by Chynell Mitchell as AAMU grabbed its last lead of the night, 48-46, with 2:28 remaining
• Southern used a 14-5 run, capped by a Williams layup, giving the Jaguars their largest lead, 60-53, with 5:50 left
• Alabama A&M closed the gap to 65-60 after a Dixon layup with 51 seconds left, but could not get any closer

GAME NOTES

• Alabama A&M shot 43.1 percent (25-of-58) from the floor and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from the foul line
• The Bulldogs grabbed 29 rebounds, including 22 on the defensive glass
• Kaylah Turner registered 20 points, five rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot
• Amiah Simmons added 16 points, four boards, three steals and two assists
• Victoria Dixon came off the bench to provide 10 points, two assists and one rebound
• The Bulldogs finished with 36 points in the paint, 16 bench points, 10 points off 13 Southern turnovers, nine second-chance points and eight fastbreak points
• Southern went 25-of-61 (41.0 percent) shooting and 11-of-14 (78.6 percent) from the charity stripe
• The Jaguars pulled down 35 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass
• Aleighyah Fontenot recorded 15 points, five rebounds and a pair of assists
• Taylor Williams tossed in 14 points, three boards, two assists and two steals
• Genovea Johnson tallied 11 points, six boards and three steals
• Raven White added 10 points and seven boards
• The Jaguars finished with 34 points in the paint, 22 bench points, 15 points off 15 AAMU turnovers, 14 second-chance points and five fastbreak points

UP NEXT 
Alabama A&M returns to action on Monday night at Grambling State. Tip-off against the Tigers is set for 5:30 p.m. from the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
 
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