DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. | Amiah Simmons scored a game-high 26 points, including draining three 3-pointers, as the Alabama A&M University women's basketball team won its third straight game, defeating Bethune-Cookman, 63-58, in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game on Saturday at Moore Gymnasium.
Alabama A&M (13-13 overall, 8-7 SWAC) led, 26-19, at the half and avoided a late fourth-quarter rally by Bethune-Cookman to pick up the conference win.
Simmons, who went 7-of-14 from the floor, finished with 26 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals to lead AAMU.
Kaylah Turner added 12 points, five boards, two assists and one steal, while
Victoria Dixon came off the bench to provide 11 points and four boards.
Alisha Wilson dominated the glass with 16 rebounds.
Chanel Wilson led Bethune-Cookman 14-13, 5-9) with 14 points, three boards, two assists, one steal and one blocked shot. Kayla Clark recorded a double-double of 12 points and 12 boards, while Chanelle McDonald finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine boards.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Alabama A&M, which completed the season sweep of BCU, jumped out to a 12-7 lead after a Dixon triple with 1:44 left in the opening quarter
- Bethune-Cookman closed the gap to 12-9 right before the end of the period on a Clark jumper
- A free throw by McDonald closed the gap to 14-13 with 7:23 remaining in the half, but AAMU used a 7-0 run, capped by a Darian Burgin jumper, to push the advantage to 21-13 with just over four minutes to play
- A trey by Burgin gave the Bulldogs their largest lead of the half, 24-14, with 2:02 left
- A three-point play by Wilson cut the deficit to 24-19 with 54 seconds remaining, but Dixon's jumper sent AAMU into the break with a 26-19 lead
- Alabama A&M extended its lead to 35-24 after a Turner bucket with 5:39 remaining
- However, the Wildcats used a 10-2 run over the next three minutes, capped by a pair of free throws by O'Mariyah Tucker free throws, to cut the margin to 37-34 with 2:02 remaining in the third
- The Bulldogs pushed the lead back to double digits and the Wildcats never got any closer than four points in the final quarter
GAME NOTES
- Alabama A&M shot 35.1 percent (20-of-57) and 65.4 percent (19-of-30) from the foul line
- The Bulldogs grabbed 49 rebounds, with 19 coming on the offensive glass
- Amiah Simmons registered 26 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals
- Kaylah Turner added 12 points, five boards, two assists and one steal
- Victoria Dixon came off the bench to provide 11 points and four boards
- Alisha Wilson dominated the glass with 16 rebounds.
- The Bulldogs finished with 20 points in the paint, 15 second-chance points, 15 points off 16 BCU turnovers, 11 bench points and one fastbreak point
- Bethune-Cookman went 20-of-62 shooting 32.3 percent) and 15-of-23 (62.5 percent) from the charity stripe
- The Wildcats grabbed 38 rebounds, with 23 coming on the defensive glass
- Chanel Wilson posted 14 points, three boards, two assists, one steal and one blocked shot
- Kayla Clark recorded a double-double of 12 points and 12 boards
- Chanelle McDonald finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine boards
- The Wildcats finished with 32 points in the paint, 17 points off 20 AAMU turnovers, 16 second-chance points, 13 bench points and eight fastbreak points
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M closes out its final road game of the regular season on Monday at Florida A&M. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. (CT) from the Al Lawson Center.
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