GRAMBLING, La. | The Grambling State University women’s basketball team led by as many 25 points midway through the third period and held on for a 71-61 victory over Alabama A&M during Senior Day in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game on Saturday at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
Grambling State secured the fourth seed in next week’s SWAC Basketball Tournament and will face the fifth seed, Texas Southern. Tip-off against TSU is set for on Tuesday at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center. Time for Tuesday’s game will be determined on Sunday night.
The Lady Tigers (15-15 overall, 12-6 SWAC) led 14-7 after one period and took a 33-18 advantage into the break. Grambling State led, 55-33, at the end of three quarters.
Shakyla Hill, who became the all-time Grambling State career leader in assists, led the Lady Tigers with 30 points, including 11-of-18 from the floor and 7-of-10 from the foul line. She added seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. Takerra Parsons finished with a double-double, a career-high 15 rebounds and a career-best 14 points, along with one steal, while Jazmin Boyd finished with 14 points, five boards and two assists.
Nigeria Jones led Alabama A&M (13-16, 8-10) with 20 points, three assists and two rebounds.
Turning Point
Grambling State led 14-7 after the first period and extended the advantage to 33-18 at the half.
The Lady Tigers pushed the margin to 48-23, after a bucket by Hill with 4:32 left in the third period, but Alabama A&M refused to go away quietly.
The Lady Bulldogs used a 31-14 run to cut the deficit to 62-54 after a bucket by Nigeria Jones with 3:26 remaining.
Alabama A&M continued to hang close and trimmed the margin to 65-59 after a 3-pointer by Jones, but that would be as close as the Lady Bulldogs would get.
Inside the Numbers
> Grambling State was 25-of-56 (44.6 percent) shooting and 17-of-24 (70.8 percent) from the charity stripe
> Alabama A&M shot 36.1 percent (26-of-72) from the field and 27.8 percent (5-of-18) from the free-throw line
> GSU registered 50 rebounds, including 33 on the defensive glass
> AAMU pulled down 38 rebounds, with 19 coming on the offensive end
> The Lady Tigers finished with 34 points in the paint, 21 points off 14 Lady Bulldog turnovers, 12 second-chance points, seven bench points and two fastbreak points
> The Lady Bulldogs tallied 40 points in the paint, 23 bench points, 20 second-chance points, 15 points off 22 Lady Tiger turnovers and six fastbreak points
News & Notes
> The Lady Tigers have won 10 or more conference games for the past four seasons
> Shakyla Hill has posted double figures in scoring in 29-of-30 games this season
> Shakyla Hill has scored 15 or more points 73 times during her collegiate career
> Jazmin Boyd has scored in double figures 76 times in her collegiate career
> Shakyla Hill is the fourth Grambling State women’s basketball player to reach the 2,000-point plateau
> Shakyla Hill surpassed Shiakiea Carter’s mark in assists and now has 603 career assists
> Shakyla Hill is now second all-time in GSU rebounds with 920
> Shakyla Hill has 483 career steals, which is a Grambling State and SWAC record
> Jazmin Boyd moved into eighth all-time in career points with 1,335. She needs 35 points to surpass Chovanique Kibble (1,369) for seventh all-time
> Takerra Parsons set career highs in points and rebounds against Alabama A&M. Her previous highs were 13 points against Alabama A&M (Jan. 4, 2017) and eight rebounds against McNeese State (Nov. 22, 2017)
> Grambling State honored three seniors – Jazmin Boyd, Shakyla Hill and Takerra Parsons – as part of Senior Day
Up Next
Grambling State secured the fourth seed in next week’s SWAC Basketball Tournament and will face the fifth seed, Texas Southern. Tip-off against TSU is set for on Tuesday at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center. Time for Tuesday’s game will be determined on Sunday night.
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