SU women win, lead SWAC
“It was just a great second half for Southern. We’ve got to build on this.” SANDY PUGH, Southern coach
Everything felt wrong.
Late in the first half Monday night in the F.G. Clark Activity Center, in a showdown for first place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, the Southern women’s basketball team had more turnovers than points.
Mississippi Valley State pressed, trapped and scored with ease, and the Jaguars looked lost.
But their coach didn’t blow a fuse. Before they wiped out a 15-point deficit and pulled away late for a crucial 63-59 victory, Sandy Pugh simply told her players to calm down.
“She never lost her patience. She told us we just needed to breathe,” junior center Laneisha Stephens said. “Just breathe, and take care of the ball. She told our guards that we just needed to handle it and get through it. And we did.”
Indeed.
As a result, Southern — on a quest for its third consecutive regular-season SWAC title — controls its own fate in the conference standings as the backstretch approaches.
The Jaguars (11-9, 10-3) hold a one-game lead on Valley (12-12, 9-4) with five regular-season games remaining.
Southern’s schedule includes a three-game road trip to Alabama A&M, Alabama State and Alcorn State before two home games to close out the year.
Early during Monday’s game, however, the Jaguars looked like they were playing for second place, almost conceding to Valley.
Looking thoroughly confused and frustrated by the Devilettes’ high-pressure defense, Southern committed 16 turnovers in the first 16 minutes, falling into a deep hole, 28-13.
“They had an excellent game plan over there against us,” Pugh said.
“We had to make some adjustments.”
They did, altering their back-court offense to make Valley cover more of the court.
The Jaguars calmed down and warmed up. They closed the first half on a 12-0 run and turned the rest of the game into a seesaw affair.
With 54 seconds remaining in the second half, Southern took a one-point lead when freshman Kendra Coleman broke the Valley press and scored on a layup. Although the Devilettes came close to tying the score or taking the lead on several possessions, SU always came up with an answer.
“We did basically what we wanted to do to them all night long,” Valley coach Nate Kilbert said. “We just didn’t get the key rebound or the key shots that we needed. But I’m happy with the way we moved the ball. We kicked the ball out to our shooters, and our shooters knocked down shots.”
The Devilettes hurt themselves by getting into foul trouble.
Three players ultimately fouled out — including their two leading scorers, Alia Frank (17 points) and De’Kisha Stallings (13 points).
“It came down to a rebound here or a shot getting made, and then the game could’ve (gone) the other way,” Kilbert said.
Southern had a 57-33 advantage rebounds, thanks, in large part, to their post players.
Stephens had 10 points and nine rebounds; Jamie Floyd nine points had a game-high 11 rebounds; and freshman Jasmine Jefferson led the Jaguars with 13 points — including five free throws in the final three minutes, helping the team put the game away.
Jefferson went 11-for-14 at the free-throw line. Her fifth and final rebound came off after a missed 3-pointer by Valley’s Davina Jefferson — a shot that would’ve tied the score at 62 with 2 seconds left.
“It was just a great second half for Southern,” Pugh said. “We’ve got to build on this.”