BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — After a hard match the Southern Jaguars took a 58-55 overtime victory against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs.
The Southwestern Athletic Conference co-champions struggled in quarterfinal action but still managed to earn their third straight trip to the championship round.
While three Jags fought in the paint for a rebound that dinged off the corner of the rim several times, Ciara Shiggs read the trajectory, raced defenders down in the corner for the loose ball and got a foul called with 14 seconds left on the clock. The score was tied 55-55.
Shiggs, a senior guard went to the line and hit both shots to put the Jaguars up 57-55.
” I had no doubts about missing the shots,” Shiggs said.
Moments earlier, two-time SWAC player of the year Rolanda Monroe had a chance to put the game out of the Lady Bulldogs reach with free throw shots. Monroe, fatigued went 0-for-4 at the free throw line in the last 37 seconds of regulation the Jaguars led 53-51.
“Free throw shooting is one thing you practice, practice, practice,” Pugh said. “But when you’re tired and you’re giving every ounce you have on both ends of the floor, you run the point, you run the 2, your guarding. I don’t think you guys realize the Herculean effort Monroe puts in. I knew one thing, she (Monroe) was tired.”
With 11 seconds left A&M’s senior forward Kimberly Pratcher scored off a lay-up to tie the score 53-53 sending the game into overtime. After Alabama A&M called a 30 second time out, the Jaguars went down court but failed to get a shot off as the last seconds expired.
“The bottom line is in games and situations like this I tell the kids you either play hard, or go to the house,” Southern coach Sandy Pugh said. “The game was on the line. I thought we had some stretches there where we lost focus in terms of what we needed to be doing because we were to busy worrying about plays that happened before hand. You can’t do that because it’s about the next play and the next play.”
Monroe, at times doubled and tripled teamed finished with 15 points, including shooting 3-for-9 at the free throw line. The Jaguars made 8-of-18 shots at the free throw line averaging 44.4 percent.
Southern led by as much as 10 points at 4:42 in the second half, but then went cold from the field, going scoreless after a pair of good free throws by Monroe. That’s when the Lady Bulldogs made their run to tie the game.
“My girls gave a great effort,” said Alabama A&M coach Altherias Warmley. “They made a few mistakes at the end and had an opportunity to win it and (we) went into overtime. Had another chance and that’s all you can ask, is to have a chance.”
The Jaguars go on to the championship game tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. against the winner of the Alabama State and Jackson State game.
