THE HILL | In a senior day double header, Kalia Walker, Lauryn Pendleton and Darian Burgin all finished in double figures as the Alabama A&M Bulldogs (19-8, 12-3 SWAC) floated past the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats 70-62 on Saturday afternoon.

Walker led the Maroon and White with 17 points and four assists. Pendleton added 12 points and a team-high five rebounds, while Burgin followed closely, logging 10 points of her own. Jaiyah Harris-Smith orchestrated the Bulldog offense, picking up a team and game-high seven assists that she paired with two steals.

The Wildcats saw four finish in double figures, led by Janessa Kelley's 15 points, including four triples.  Kayla Clark added 12 points, five assists, two steals and two blocks. Chanelle McDonald and Asianae Nicholson both added 10 points, with Nicholson recording a game-high 15 rebounds. After the victory, AAMU extended their lead to 7-1 in the overall series with the Wildcats.

HOW IT HAPPENED  

The Wildcats were the first to get on the board and took a quick 6-0 lead before a Walker found the bottom of the basket after a fade away three-pointer 
The Bulldogs reduce the B-CU lead after a layup from Pendleton with just under five minutes remaining in the opening frame 
Bethune-Cookman scored six unanswered points to take an eight-point lead before Burgin recorded a three-point play (21-15; 0:31) 
Nichols made a free throw to finish the first quarter with the visitors in front 21-10.  
Pendleton scored a driving layup to open the second frame before B-CU responded with their own pair of points  
Kalia Walker shot a contested triple to spark the Bulldog offense, as the Maroon and White saw a pair of foul shots and two more triples to take a slim 28-27 lead 
A jumper, drawn foul and made free throw from Aniya Palmer sent the game into the break with AAMU ahead 35-33 
B-CU opened the frame with a three-pointer from Janessa Kelley, but the Bulldogs quickly responded with four points, highlighted by a steal and behind the back pass from Walker to Wilkerson who finished the play with a layup 
Kelley knocked down another triple but a pair of Maroon and White jumpers extended the Bulldog lead to five (3:44) 
AAMU outscored B-CU 4-2 to end the thirs quarter ahead 55-47 
Mailyn Wilkerson opened the final stanza a shot from beyond the arc  
The Bulldogs saw their largest lead of the contest to that point after a driving layup from Wilson  (60-49) 
The Wildcats reduced the Bulldog lead to four off a triple from Kelley with just under a minute remaining in regulation  
Pendleton knocked down two pairs of free throws and Walker added a pair of her own to solidify the 70-62 victory. 

GAME NOTES  

• Alabama A&M shot 44.4 percent (24-54) from the field and 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from behind the arc  
• AAMU went 16-23 (69.6 percent) from the line  
• The Bulldogs grabbed 25 total rebounds, 21 of them defensively  
• Walker led the Maroon and White with 17 points and four assists. 
• Pendleton added 12 points and a team-high five rebounds 
• Burgin logged 10 points, two rebounds and one steal  
• Jaiyah Harris-Smith orchestrated the Bulldog offense with seven assists and two steals  
• The Bulldogs finished with 24 points in the paint, 26 bench points, and 16 points from 22 Rattler turnovers   
• Bethune-Cookman shot 41.5 percent (22-of-53) from the field, 68.4 percent from the line (13-of-19), and 33.3 percent (5-15) from behind the arc  
• B-CU grabbed 43 rebounds  
• The Wildcats were led by Janessa Kelley's 15 points, including four triples. 
• Kayla Clark added 12 points, five assists, two steals and two blocks.  
• Chanelle McDonald and Asianae Nicholson both added 10 points, with Nicholson recording a game-high 15 rebounds for her double-double 
• Bethune-Cookman saw 26 points in the paint, 11 bench points, and eight points from 12 Bulldog turnovers 

UP NEXT  

Alabama A&M heads to Montgomery to face in-state conference rival Alabama State on Saturday at Noon. Live streaming will be available via HBCU GO. 

For complete coverage of Alabama A&M Athletics – Huntsville's only Division I program - check out the official homepage at www.aamusports.com. Remember to follow us on social media: Instagram (@aamuathletics), Facebook (aamubulldogathletics), Twitter (@_aamuathletics) and TikTok (aamuathletics). 

 
 

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