Lady Jags suffer their first defeat at the hands of the Braves

Lady Jags suffer their first defeat at the hands of the Braves
When the clock winded down to the last second, the unconquerable Lady Jags faced their first devastating defeat against the Alcorn Braves at home last Saturday.
The 8th on the standing list, Alcorn Braves (5-15, 4-5), met the Lady Jags (11-6, 8-1) head on into a battle of wit and who could challenge the Jags to defend their undefeated streak.
The first half, the Lady Jags were down 8 points which is unusual because they never were down on points before halftime in conference play. They faced a stagnant first half and the Alcorn Braves connected continuous shots on the Jags defense.
The Jaguars’ strategy changed due to the starting lineup, which contained a different mixture of players than their original lineup of intense players. The mistakes that were seen and clearly calculated made it easy for the Braves to see through them.
Alcorn in the first half had 40.0% field goals with 50.0% three-point field goals and 77.8% free throws.
Southern came behind with 26.5% field goals, 40.0% three-pointer field goals and 50.0% free throws.
Southern Jaguars’ own, Kendra Coleman says, “The offensive rhythm was slightly off and we seemed to be making quick shots instead of staying with our usual strategy of passing, finding an opening, and connecting with a basket.”
Head Coach Sandy Pugh says that the girls shot free throws during practice and Coleman agrees that they didn’t shoot those shots well as a team.
The 2nd half met with dire desperation and heavy pride to defend their claim as the Lady Jags fought back to halt scoring at the beginning of the 2nd half. They constantly pressed forward with aggressive defense only to no avail but passion was seen to gather the win.
The constant screams and bellows from fans raged on as the intensity raged on the entire 2nd half to remind the girls that they were the number 1 team and could fight and win to stay that way.
With a 1:35 left on the clock after Coleman made two free throw shots, the ability to capture the win back was possible.
 At the end of the half, the Lady Jags kept the score only to see that the points did not turn into their favor when 6 more points was scored between Tierro Frost and Angelic Wilson-Reid of the Braves.
The Jags still fought for glory when they scored 28 points compared to 24 points in the first half. The improvement was that free throw shots were 64.7%.
On the other hand shooting percentage declined on our end with 24.2% field goals and 11.1% three point field goals.
But when the clock winded down to zero and it was known that defeat was imminent, hard work and a drive of intensity was seen followed by a sense of urgency.
Pugh speaks on behalf of the team and them holding a certain standard of excellence.
“But at the end of the day, if you’re the best team, you have to play like it and step up to the table because you’re going to get everyone’s A-1 effort.”
Coleman comes behind her coach and says, “We should have picked it up but we didn’t.”
As devastating as the loss in conference play is, the team still remains at the top of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and it remains that they are a team to be reckoned with until the end of the postseason.
Catch the Southern University Women’s Basketball team on February 8 when they battle Grambling State in north Louisiana.