ATLANTA — In a thrilling four quarters Thursday, the Alabama A&M University women’s basketball team fell 56-53 to the Alcorn State Braves in the quarterfinals of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Alabama A&M concludes its historic season – the first 20-plus win season in program history at the NCAA Division I level – at 21-10.
In the final minutes, Alabama A&M snatched a 51-49 advantage after a Lauryn Pendleton layup with 1:33 remaining, but free throws by Nakia Cheatman put the Braves back in front, 54-51 with 1:13 left. AAMU closed the gap to 54-53 after a Kalia Walker layup with 51 seconds remaining. A jumper by Jaenee Anderson pushed the Braves lead to 56-53 with 22 seconds to play.
Alabama A&M had multiple looks during the final 15 seconds as Walker missed a 3-pointer, followed by a missed jumper by Alsiaha Wilson. Still with one last chance, Pendleton’s triple missed the rim and Wilson collected the rebound as time expired, giving Alcorn State the stunning tournament win.
Pendleton led the Bulldogs with 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and one steal, while Wilson added 10 points, eight boards and five steals.
Destiny Brown, the SWAC Defensive Player of the Year, registered a double-double of 20 points and 13 boards, along with three assists and two blocks. Jeanee Anderson tallied nine points and one resbound.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe to our email newsletter to have all our smart stories delivered to your inbox.
