Lucky Number 13: Lady Jaguars move on to clinch second title

The Lady Jaguars basketball team won their 13 consecutive game this past Saturday against the Alcorn Braves as they coasted to a 76-55 victory on Senior Night.
The lady Jags came out with a chip on their shoulder, as the first time they played Alcorn this season, they fell behind by 17 points. Guard Brittney Washington said, “Last time we were down 17 at halftime, so we knew they thought they could beat us. Our plan was to jump on them early.”
That’s exactly what the Jaguars did, Washington especially. She scored nine of Southern’s first 15 points and finished the game with 18 points and a team high of eight rebounds. Kendra Coleman, one of six seniors playing in their last home game, added 17 points. Freshman Briana Green added 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Lady Jags built a 16 point lead at halftime and never looked back. They forced 16 turnovers and limited Alcorn to 8-27 shooting in the first half. With the Jaguars controlling the whole game, the smallest deficit Alcorn faced was 13 points. Norianna Haynes led Alcorn with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
“Norianna really got going,” said Southern coach Sandy Pugh. “We knew her offensive tendencies, but we were reluctant at times. We had some missed defensive assignments at the time. We still have a lot to work on.” Pugh finished.
Brittney Washington got it started for the Jaguars Saturday. Her two baskets began a 10-0 run to end the game. The Jaguars were up by as much as 23 points with five and a half minutes left to play. After that, Coach Pugh pulled all of her seniors: Bunny Scott, Keonia Parrish, Yasmine Nelson and Shaquandria Litmon followed Brittney Washington and Kendra Coleman to the bench.
“We got a great effort from everyone tonight. They made sure we had a great senior night,” Coleman said.
The Lady Jaguars stifled the Alcorn Braves defensively.
“Coach told us we needed to lock down and not allow them any good looks,” stated Coleman. “We really focused on what she said.” Coleman finished.
Alcorn went scoreless for eight and a half minutes in the first half before Haynes hit a buzzer beater three point shot to cut Southern’s lead to 36-20 at the half.
The Jaguars won their 13 consecutive game and improved to 14-2 in the SWAC and 16-10 overall. They are second in the SWAC standings and are behind Texas Southern. The Lady Jaguars have two games left. Thursday March 5, they face off against Prairie View A&M Panthers in Prairie View, Texas. Their last game of the season is a showdown with the Texas Southern Tigers on March 7 in Houston, Texas.