The battle for positioning at the top of the Southwestern Athletic Conference women’s basketball standings will take center stage Saturday afternoon when Southern University hosts Alabama A&M.
Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m.
Alabama A&M (12-9, 8-1 SWAC) enters the matchup tied with Alcorn State for first place after winning eight straight conference games. Southern (11-9, 7-2) sits alone in third and is looking to rebound from a tough road loss and keep pace in the title race.
Why this game matters
The Jaguars are coming off a 69-59 loss at Alcorn State last Saturday. Southern struggled to generate offense down the stretch, shooting 25-of-43 from the free-throw line and going cold from the field against the Braves’ 1-3-1 zone. Jocelyn Tate led Southern with 15 points — the only Jaguar to reach double figures.
Southern is averaging 61.0 points and shooting 37.9 percent from the floor per game.
DeMya Porter paces the Jaguars offense at 10.3 points and 5.1 boards per game, while Jaylia Reed is averaging 8.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists.
Southern is in the midst of a pivotal stretch against the league’s best — four of its next five opponents rank among the SWAC’s top five teams.
Meanwhile, Alabama A&M has found its rhythm after an early stumble.
Since dropping its conference opener in overtime at Mississippi Valley State, the Bulldogs have reeled off eight consecutive wins, including a 42-point rout of Alcorn State.
Kalia Walker, who leads the conference and is seventh nationally in free-throw percentage, is registering 13.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.2 steals. In comparison, Moses Davenport is right behind her at 10.8 points, 6.2 boards, and 1.0 steals per game. In addition, Coriah Beck is posting 9.3 points, 3.7 boards, and 1.9 assists.
The Bulldogs ranked tops in the conference in numerous categories, including field goal percentage, field goal percentage defense, free-throw attempts per game (12th nationally), free-throws made per game (26th nationally), rebound margin, scoring defense and scoring margin.
Their closest contest came in last Thursday’s 49-44 win over Bethune-Cookman, a game in which A&M never trailed in the second half.
