BATON ROUGE, La. | The Alabama A&M women's basketball team (21-9, 14-4 SWAC) ended the regular season by topping top-seeded Southern University (17-14, 15-3 SWAC) on Saturday afternoon. The 48-35 victory solidifies AAMU's third seed position going into the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament.
The Jaguars took an early edge, starting the contest on a 5-0 run, but a steadfast Maroon and White held SU to just two points in the second stanza and never looked back, outscoring Southern University in three quarters to claim the victory. Two Bulldogs finished in double figures, led by Lauryn Pendleton's 16 points, including six of eight from the foul line. Kalia Walker added 14 points, including the triple that gave the Bulldogs the lead in the second quarter. Alisha Wilson crashed the boards, grabbing 17 rebounds, the most of either team. Jaiyah Harris-Smith orchestrated the AAMU offense, recording four assists while Aniya Palmer accounted for three blocks on the defensive end.
The Jaguars struggled offensively with no one scoring more than Tionna Lidge's nine points. Aniya Gourdine paced SU with eight rebounds, six assists and five steals. Taniya Lawson added two blocks in the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The host team opened the game with a three pointer and jumper to take a five point lead.
AAMU scored trio of points, but SU scored another four points to go up six with five and a half minutes remaining in the first frame.
A pair of free throws from Pendleton gave AAMU a slight edge (12-11) but a turn around jumper and foul shot from Lidge sent the teams to the next frame with the Jaguars in front by two (14-12)
The jaguars increased their control, but six consecutive points from Walker put Alabama A&M in the driver seat (19-16)
Palmer made a free throw to end the quarter (20-16) and send the game into the break
Southern managed to tie the contest after a jumper from D'Shantae Edwards but the Maroon and White outscored the Jaguars 11-4 to end third frame with a seven-point margin (33-26)
AAMU took a 10 point lead from a Wilson layup, then again from a jumper by Palmer
The Jaguars cut the Bulldog control to five from a triple, courtesy of Soniyah Reed
Alabama A&M scored eight more unanswered points to solidify the 48-35 victory
GAME NOTES
- Alabama A&M shot 38.1 percent (16-42) from the field and 33.3% percent (1-3) from behind the arc
- AAMU went 15-24 (62.5) percent) from the line
- The Bulldogs grabbed 41 total rebounds, 33 of them defensively
- Lauryn Pendleton's recorded 16 points, including six of eight from the foul line.
- Kalia Walker added 14 points
- Alisha Wilson grabbed 17 rebounds
- Jaiyah Harris-Smith recorded four assists while Aniya Palmer accounted for three blocks
- The Bulldogs finished with 24 points in the paint, 10 bench points, and 8 points from 12 Jaguar turnovers
- Southern University shot 21.2 percent (14-66) from the field, 35.7 percent from the line (5-14), and 10.5 percent (2-19) from behind the arc
- SU grabbed 34 rebounds
- Southern was led by Tionna Lidge's nine points.
- Aniya Gourdine paced SU with eight rebounds, six assists and five steals.
- Taniya Lawson added two blocks in the contest.
- The Tigers saw 22 points in the paint, 11 bench points, and 16 points from 26 Bulldog turnovers
UP NEXT
The Maroon and White head East for the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) tournament. The Bulldogs claim the third seed and will face Alcorn on March 13 at 11 a.m. at the Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta, Ga. All rounds can be watched live on ESPN+.
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).
