HUNTSVILLE, Ala. | Kaylah Turner had only seven points at the break, but erupted for 19 points in the second half as the Alabama A&M University women's basketball team jumped out to a huge first-half lead and cruised to a 67-59 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) victory on Monday night at the AAMU Event Center.
Alabama A&M (12-13 overall, 7-7 SWAC) led by as many as 15 points in the first period as
Amiah Simmons and
Alisha Wilson scored eight points each as the Bulldogs took a 20-6 lead into the second quarter. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (14-12, 9-4) closed the gap to six twice in the final period, but never got any closer.
Simmons led Alabama A&M with 20 points, including eight free throws, nine rebounds, two assists and one steal. Turner added 19 points, eight boards, two assists and two steals, while Wilson tallied 12 points, seven boards, two steals and one block.
Maya Peat led UAPB by scoring 11 of her 20 points in the first half, along with 14 rebounds. Zaay Green added 11 points and eight boards, with four assists, two steals and one block.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Alabama A&M got out of the gate quickly, taking a 12-2 lead after a Simmons jumper with just over five minutes to play in the opening quarter
- The Bulldogs extended their lead to 17-2 after a Simmons triple with exactly four minutes left in the period
- A jumper by Zaay Green snapped a nearly six-minute cold stretch from the floor for UAPB as the Golden Lions trimmed the deficit to 18-6 with 2:04 remaining
- The Bulldogs defense forced UAPB to just two field goals and shoot 11.1 percent in the first as Alabama A&M took a 20-6 advantage into the second period
- Buckets by Darian Burgin and Simmons gave AAMU a 26-12 lead with just over seven minutes remaining
- The Golden Lions, who shot 50 percent in the second quarter, closed the gap to 26-19 after a Peat layup with 5:38 left
- However, Alabama A&M answered the short run with baskets by Simmons, Wilson and Turner as the Bulldogs pushed the advantage back to double digits, 32-19, with just under four minutes to play
- The Bulldogs went the final four minutes without a field goal, but did their damage at the foul line, taking a 37-25 advantage into the break
- A Turner jumper extended AAMU's lead to 39-25 with just under nine minutes remaining in the third
- Back came UAPB, closing the margin to 39-29 with 6:23 left after a Green layup
- The Golden Lions closed the margin to 44-36 after a Green free throw with 3:16 remaining, but a Turner triple pushed the advantage back to double digits, 47-36, with 2:23 left
- UAPB continued to trim the deficit, cutting the margin to 44-32 after a Shephard trey right before the end of the third
- The Golden Lions closed the gap to six twice before AAMU stretched it back to double digits, 58-48, after a Wilson jumper with 5:35 remaining
- A layup by Takaya Walters-Norman and a free throw by Simmons gave the Bulldogs a 63-53 lead with 1:54 left
- Arkansas-Pine Bluff could not respond during the final two minutes
GAME NOTES
- Alabama A&M shot 35.4 percent (23-of-65) and 75.0 percent (18-of-24) from the free-throw line
- The Bulldogs grabbed 49 rebounds, including 18 on the offensive glass
- Amiah Simmons recorded 20 points, nine boards, two assists and one steal
- Kaylah Turner added 19 points, eight boards, two assists and two steals
- Alisha Wilson registered 12 points, seven boards, two steals and one block
- The Bulldogs finished with 34 points in the paint, 15 fastbreak points, eight bench points, eight second-chance points and eight points off 13 UAPB turnovers
- Arkansas-Pine Bluff went 22-of-63 shooting (34.9 percent) and 8-of-21 (38.1 percent) from the charity stripe
- The Golden Lions recorded 43 boards, with 21 coming on the defensive glass
- Maya Peat registered 20 points and 14 rebounds
- Zaay Green added 11 points, eight boards, four assists, two steals and one blocked shot
- The Golden Lions finished with 24 points in the paint, 15 bench points, 10 second-chance points, nine points off 13 AAMU turnovers and three fastbreak points
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M returns to the road one final time during the regular season, visiting Bethune-Cookman on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. from Moore Gymnasium.
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