Blocker’s late free throw lifts Grambling past SU

GRAMBLING — Jasher Blocker had never been in this position before, standing at the free-throw line with a chance to defeat archrival Southern on her own.

Even after the Grambling senior missed her first of two free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining Saturday afternoon at the Hobdy Assembly Center, Blocker didn’t panic.

Not too much, anyway.

“Of course you’re going to be nervous when the game is on the line,” Blocker said. “But I was confident. ... I was confident on that second free throw, for sure.”

She nailed it, sending the Jaguars home with a 60-59 loss that was surely disappointing to coach Sandy Pugh and her team, but strangely fitting to anyone who has watched Southern play at Grambling in recent years.

Saturday’s game marked the fourth straight time that the Lady Tigers defeated Southern on their home floor — a noteworthy achievement for Grambling (9-11, 5-5 Southwestern Athletic Conference), which has spent much of this season mixing upset victories with surprising belly-flops.

“If (our players) would just focus like that all the time, there’s not too many teams that could beat us,” Grambling coach Donnita Rogers said.

The Jaguars have not won at Grambling since Jan. 12, 2008, when they crushed the Lady Tigers 75-46.

This year’s loss was especially disheartening — not only because it knocked Southern (8-9, 7-3) out of a first-place tie with Mississippi Valley State, but because the Jaguars rarely looked comfortable on offense.

Star freshman Kendra Coleman went 3-for-14 from the floor and finished with seven points.

And although Southern had a 42-36 advantage in rebounds, it also had 21 turnovers. Two of its top post players, Jamie Floyd and Lechell Rush, combined for 11 points.

Adrian Sanders and Laneisha Stephens led the Jaguars with 15 points apiece.

Sanders had 11 rebounds, and Stephens grabbed 10.

“No productivity from the post. I thought Laneisha played as well as she’s played all season. She’s the only post (player) that we had who showed up,” Pugh said. “I thought that was a huge factor for us, because it really got (Grambling) going.”

The Lady Tigers rallied from an eight-point deficit early in the second half, and from then on, it was a one-possession ballgame, with seven ties and three lead changes after halftime.

Grambling had a two-point lead until freshman Jasmine Jefferson made back-to-back free throws with 1:37 left, tying the score at 59.

The teams combined to miss shots on three straight possessions when Southern’s Laneisha Stephens get off a jumper from 15 feet.

The shot caromed off the backboard, and after a wild scramble for the ball, Stephens got it back.

But instead of resetting the offense, Stephens fired off another shot. It missed, as well, and Grambling eventually grabbed the loose ball at midcourt.

Emerging from a timeout with 9.9 seconds left, the Lady Tigers planned to set up a short jumper for one of their guards.

Southern countered, however, with a jump-trap that had Grambling’s Savannah Carter in trouble on the right wing.

“I saw my teammate getting doubled, so I flashed (across the lane),” Blocker said. “She tried to get me the ball.”

The Jaguars actually tipped Carter’s pass, but Blocker got her hands on it — just as she drew a foul from Kendra Coleman with 3.4 seconds remaining.

The crowd quieted down. And Blocker missed her first attempt.

But she made the second one.

“I’ve been pressing the girls about free throws for the last two weeks,” Rogers said. “I’ve never been so glad to see someone shoot 50 percent in my life.”