Alabama A&M has a chance to clinch the regular-season championship Saturday when it hosts rival Alabama State.
The Bulldogs, riding a 14-game winning streak, hold a two-game lead over second-place Alcorn State with three contests remaining.
A win would secure A&M’s first piece of the regular-season crown since joining the SWAC and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
The matchup also comes at a pivotal moment in what has been a dominant stretch for head coach Dawn Thornton’s squad, which hasn’t lost since dropping its conference opener in early January to Mississippi Valley State.
How Alabama A&M has done it
Alabama A&M (first in the SWAC) is averaging 63.0 points per game while shooting 39.9 percent from the field. The Bulldogs continue to lean on balanced scoring and stout defense, ranking among the conference and national leaders in multiple categories, including free-throw attempts (sixth nationally), scoring defense (17th), free throws made per game (17th), and field-goal percentage defense (23rd).
Junior guard Kalia Walker anchors the offense with 14.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. She also leads the SWAC — and ranks 19th nationally — in free-throw percentage. Moses Davenport adds 10.5 points and 6.1 rebounds, while Coriah Beck contributes 9.8 points, 4.4 boards, and 2.0 assists per contest.
“Defensively is what we’ve got to make sure we take care of,” Thornton told Fox 54. “We’re number 18 in the country right now in defensive percentage, so it’s definitely going to be one of those nights where we’ve got to lock into what we need to do. We want to go into the tournament as the No. 1 seed — we want to win the regular season. To do that, we’ve got to take care of business on Saturday.”
It’s going to be a very physical battle for sure, and we’re ready for all the fans, the atmosphere, and the crowd. We know it’s going to be a big one.”
