To Houston and beyond: Lady Jaguars top Prairie View and Texas Southern to clinch regular season title

Late Thursday afternoon, the Tigers of Texas Southern University visited the Lady Jaguars on their own home court. Both teams are fighting for the top spot in the SWAC conference. In their previous meeting, TSU beat the lady Jaguars 45-59. This time around, Southern slid past Texas Southern by one point 56-55.
With 1273 in attendance, the stage was set and the lady jaguars put on a performance. There was a change in the lineup for Southern University. Freshman point guard, Skylar O’Bear, was back in her starting position in place of Kadesha Barry who started the last 3 games.
The Jaguars were down by four points going into the second quarter before sophomore, Briana Green scored the first eight points for the Southern Jaguars’.
“When it came to this game, a championship is on the line. That’s our ultimate goal. We want to take the regular season and SWAC but we have to finish the regular season first and that’s what this game was about,” explained Green, who finished the game with 14 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists.
Southern played with an immense amount of intensity through the duration of the game. They outscored TSU in the paint by 10 points (26-16). Three of Southern’s starters ended the game in double digits. Jaguars center, Maiya Crowder, ended the game with 12 points while junior guard, Courtnei Purnell, ended the game with 14 points and 6 rebounds.
“I woke up at 8 o’clock this morning just to put up shots because I know it hasn’t been falling much. I knew I had to score for this game,” explained Purnell.
Texas Southern’s freshman point guard, Joyce Kennerson, rallied for the Lady Tigers as she ended the game with 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals.
Some other mentionable players include Kianna Vines and Brianna Sidney who both ended the game with 15 points.
The game went tick for tack up until the last two minutes when Kennerson, received a steal, and made a layup off of a fast break, and scored a jumper on the next play. SU’s Britney Washington managed to score a quick lay up before TSU called a timeout with just 33 seconds to play. Texas Southern’s LaDeyah Forte made a layup just before the buzzer went off, making the end of the game result in a 56-55 victory for the Lady Jaguars.
The Lady Jaguar’s basketball team crushed Prairie View 72-45 on Saturday afternoon in a battle to win a regular season championship. The team had much to play for this day given to the fact that it was senior night and Southern University was welcoming home their beloved Devon Gales, a football player who suffered from a spinal injury early in the fall season. Southern has beaten Prairie View five consecutive times. They are now tied with Alabama State and Texas Southern for a regular season championship title. They each have a record of 14-4 for the entire season.
From tip off to the final sound of the buzzer, Southern played with a tenacity that Prairie View just could not seem to keep up with. The jaguars led by as many as 30 points. Southern shot sixty percent from the floor while Prairie View only hot 30 percent. 6’0 junior Maiya Crowder ended the game with 12 points and five rebounds. Skylar O’Bear, the freshman facilitator, shot one hundred percent from behind the arc (2-2) and dished out 8 assists. Senior Post Jadea Brundidge led the jags with 8 rebounds.
“We knew that there was a championship on the line, we did everything in our power just to come out with the W,” explained Sophomore Guard, Briana Green.
Green ended the game with 17 points and 7 rebounds.
Prairie View’s Lanikki McMillian rallied for the Panthers, ending the game with 15 points while her teammate, Larissa Scott, scored 10 points and grabbed 9 rebounds for the night. Senior guard Lamaria Cole, who is recovering from an injury, was able to add 8 points coming off of the Panthers bench.
Southern’s senior guard and leading scorer, Britney Washington, scored 17 points for the Jaguars. She also passed the 1000-point career mark.
“It feels amazing, I’m really going to miss my teammates and coaches and everyone on the staff. It went by fast but it’s been a great and wonderful journey. Its bitter sweet, it’s really bitter sweet,” explained Washington.
The next game for the Lady Jaguars will take place in Houston during the SWAC conference tournament in Houston, Texas. Southern will face the winner out of game 1 in which Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State play each other.
The Lady Jaguars begin their ascent into championship play on Wednesday, March 9 at 12 pm and will see what the dice has for them.