No Offense, No Problem: Defense holds against Alcorn, keeps Jags atop the SWAC

After a 77-62 victory against the Lady Bulldogs of Alabama A&M last Monday in the F.G. Clark Activity Center, the Southern University Lady Jaguars women’s basketball team (8-9, 7-1 SWAC) found themselves in another SWAC matchup against the Alcorn State Lady Braves (9-10, 5-3 SWAC).
The Lady Jags started Saturday’s game against the fourth ranked Braves a few steps slower than usual. Unlike their typical fast paced style of play on both sides of the ball, the team struggled to defend Alcorn’s shooting from beyond the arch, converting 2-3 (67%) of their three pointers to start the game.
With the clock at the 4:32 mark midway through the first quarter, the Lady Braves held a slight lead of 6-8. Southern failed to convert any three-pointers and went 50 percent in field goals (3-6). After finding themselves playing from behind, Southern was able to gain their first lead of the game after scoring 10 points in the paint and capitalizing on free throw attempts.
Senior forward, Briana Green, and senior guard, Samantha Duncan, accumulated most of the points inside the paint and turnovers on defense. The Braves would not be out done, keeping the game within reach by outscoring Southern in points off second chances and fast breaks.
After a physical performance from both teams, Southern led the Braves 30-27 at the end of the first half.
Defense seemed to be the Lady Jags’ main focus in the second half of play. They were able to stop the Lady Braves on 4 consecutive possessions in the beginning of the second half. Southern pulled out to a 13 point lead with a score of 50-37 towards the end of the third quarter before Alcorn began to cut down the margin.
The Braves were able to score eight unanswered points while only allowing Southern to score four points down the stretch, making the score 54-45 with 5:50 left in the fourth quarter. However, the Lady Jags were able to draw enough fouls to enter the bonus, where they were able to score 6-7 (86%) shots from the free throw line.
Alcorn’s defense refused to go down without a fight. With under thirty seconds left, Southern led by only 6 points. But after a back and forth defensive slugfest, the Lady Jags prevailed against Alcorn 63-56, improving their record to 9-9.
Southern finished the game going 21-55 (38%) on field goals and 2-12 (17%) in three pointers while grabbing 29 total rebounds (15 on offense and 14 on defense). They capitalized off of Alcorn’s 26 turnovers by scoring 23 points.
“We played very lackadaisical at times,” commented Green after a game she was limited to ten points and five assists. She went on to say, “At times we played real careless with the ball and our defense was horrendous. But that’s something we need to correct looking forward going into hostile environments like Grambling and Jackson.”
When Duncan was asked about Southern’s rocky performance, she expressed, “We have to pick up our slack on defense.”
The main ingredient to the Lady Jaguars being able to lead the SWAC with a formidable 8-1 conference record is their ability to cook up and dish out defense until they ruin the appetites of opponents. Southern is ranked amongst the top five when it comes to scoring defense, perimeter defense, defensive rebounding, and steals. Duncan added, “That’s all we practice is defense, because that’s what win games, not offense.”
Head Coach Sandy Pugh pointed out during the postgame press conference that one of the reasons why Southern played very sloppy against the press was due to the lack of concentration at half court.
She closed her interview by saying, “You can’t play hard when you feel like it, I felt that we got a little winded and discouraged at times and we let that over take us.”
When the clock hit zero, even through turmoil, the Lady Jags wound up victorious yet again. The road does not get any easier from here. The defenders of the gold and blue will travel north to take on arch rival Grambling State this weekend.