Southern scores close win over rival

There will be times when you’re down. You not only need to bounce back, but you must shoot towards a goal and score to remain on top.
That is precisely what the Jaguars of the Southern University women’s basketball team did Saturday night at the F.G. Clark Activity Center. They shot towards a goal and scored baskets to come out with a win.
With nearly 14 minutes left in the game, the Jaguars found themselves behind by 12 points with red-shirt center Fredrieka Lewis (the leading scorer) warming the bench because of her four fouls.
Once the clock hit 13 minutes, the Jaguars shifted their weight and changed their style to end up with a 56-53 win over the Lady Tigers of Grambling State.
“We knew we had to calm down,” Southern senior guard Tiffany Jones said. “There was 13 minutes left, more than enough time. We had to execute our offense and really ‘D’ up, too. Defense won that game for us.”
With 2:05 left, junior forward Krystal Huggins made a 3-pointer and gave Southern (3-15, 3-6 Southwestern Athletic Conference) the advantage at 54-53.
And with 10.3 seconds until the end of the game, Jones went to the free throw line after being fouled by Grambling senior guard Sanora Cole. Jones made both of the shots, giving Southern a 3-point lead and eventually a win.
“I thought that the last ten minutes we played better basketball,” Pugh said. “I was really pleased with our effort.”
The lead scorers for the Jaguars was Lewis with her 17 points and Jones added 11 points.
Before playing Southern, Grambling (9-12, 5-5 SWAC), was on a four-game winning streak, but Southern put that to a halt. That night the Tigers lead scorer was Cormier with her 18 points.
Dissimilar to January 6, when the teams encountered each other for the first time this season and Grambling went away with the 65-54 win at home, Southern was dominant when it came to the Lady Tigers visiting their home.
“We had Grambling here and that was the first part of our goal to go get this one at home,” Pugh said.
Despite the fact Southern was 6-for-16 at the free-throw line, as well as 1-for-7 before making three of its final four in the second half, Grambling was 10-for-25, with Cormier going 4-for-11. The Lady Tigers were 3-for-13 in the second half, and 0-for-4 in the final 1:32.
“Lacey really carried us for the game, but the bottom line was free throws,” Grambling head coach Rusty Ponton said. “You’ve got command of the game. You’re on the line and you miss free throws. You can’t win on an opposing team’s home court missing free throws.”
The initial half had seven lead changes and four ties, with Grambling ahead 29-27 at halftime. The Lady Tigers obtained a major advantage at 11-5, when their sophomore guard Kourtney Sherman scored with 12:46 awaiting halftime, while Southern went practically six minutes without scoring.
With 5:10 before halftime, Lewis scored, and the Jaguars reacted with a 9-2 surge to reach up 19-17.
“We were a little sluggish at first,” Pugh said. “But this team has come a long way and it’s going to change and grow. I am happy that they were able to pull a win out of this game.”