Blake leads Jags past Lady Braves

When Alcorn State focused on Jaguars senior guard Rolanda Monroe and held her to only four points in Saturdays game, they forgot about one thing: the rest of the team. Particularly senior guard Ashley Blake and senior forward Krystal Huggins, who led the Jaguars (11-7 overall, 8-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference) past Alcorn State 64-49. In the win, Blake scored 14 points and 8 rebounds, while Huggins had 11 points with 6 rebounds.
“This team is good enough to win games without her (Monroe),” head coach Sandy Pugh said. “I hate to say it like that because she is a vital part of what we do. But it shows a lot of character in the other kids being able to step up and play and build the lead they did.”
Pugh said playing with team the at practice brought the fun back to the game. She said the team was more relaxed and totally focused. She said she didn’t worry about their shots, but more about rebounding and defending.
“Ashley is one of the best players in the league, when she’s playing the way she did tonight,” Pugh said. “She was that spark plug tonight.”
Southern took a 26-16 lead at halftime. Alcorn (6-11, 4-5) tried to keep up with the Jaguars through out the half as the lead changed four times. Coming into the second half with a 10-point lead, the Jaguars continued to extend their lead to 21 points after 8:55 minutes.
“We came out and played hard,” Blake said. “Coach told us to go out there and play relaxed (and) don’t worry about anything and have fun. And that’s what we did and got the victory.”
The Jaguars will be traveling to Grambling to face rival Grambling State University. The game is Saturday at Men’s Memorial Gymnasium, beginning at 5:30 p.m.