Lady Jags defeat Alabama A&M to claim 3rd Straight Victory

After a blowout win against Mississippi Valley State coming into Saturday night’s game vs Alabama A&M, the Lady Jags looked to continue their winning ways on the first of what will be their final 3-game homestand of the season.
The first quarter of the game saw strong play from Southern’s bench unit led by Brittany Rose and Amani McWain, who combined for 14 points on the night. Southern’s bench unit outscored Alabama A&M 14-7 on the way to a 20-16 lead early in the first half.
Throughout most of the first half of play, the Lady Jags remained in the lead, but through tough defense on the part of Alabama A&M, were unable to build a solid lead in either the first or second quarter.
The 2nd quarter of play however, saw the Lady Jaguars starters getting involved offensively for Southern, with senior guard Skylar O’Bear carrying her share of the offensive load, knocking down two big shots to help the Jaguars go into the half with a 32-28 lead.
While the first half saw multiple players step up and make shots for Southern, the 2nd half saw Alyric Scott put Southern’s offensive load on her back as she scored 12 of her 16 points in the 2nd half of play.
While Southern’s lead was consistent throughout the game, missed opportunities were left on the court throughout the first half, whether through easy missed baskets early in the game or the teams 41% free throw shooting through the first half.
“We’ve been kind of lukewarm at times. [But] we shot the ball well from the freethrow line [at certain points in the game], and we’ve done some things in practice to try and improve that,” said Coach Funchess after the game concerning the team’s lack of consistency at the free throw line.
In the 2nd half however, these problems were rectified as the Lady Jags increased their field goal percentage exponentially, shooting the ball 12-27 from the field and 3-4 from behind the arc, while also knocking down 9-13 from the free throw lines.
The 2nd half of play also saw contributions from Taneara Moore, who finished the night with 8 points and 11 rebounds, and Rishonti Cowart who finished with 8 points and 4 rebounds.
“She’s one of our [best] mid-range jump shooters, and we wanted to get her in and take advantage of that zone. And when she got the open looks, she knocked them down and got us rolling a little bit,” said Coach Funchess in regards to Cowart and what she was able to provide for the team after he admitted she wasn’t feeling well at halftime.
Between Skylar O’Bear, who finished the night with 16 points and 9 boards, Moore and Cowart, the trio of starters combined to finish the game with 32 of the Jaguars 68 points.
On the night, Southern out-rebounded Alabama A&M 51-34, and talking to Head Coach Carlos Funchess after the game, he acknowledged that his squads rebounding was an area of emphasis going into the night’s game.
“I thought that was going to be one of the keys to the game; us getting those offensive boards and getting second shot [opportunities],” said Coach Funchess. “We had a size advantage at the four spot, and I think we took advantage of it and that helped us pull out the win.”
The Lady Jaguars defeated the Alabama A&M Lady Bulldogs 68-60 to continue their dominance in the SWAC as they look to finish out their final home stretch of the season undefeated.