From Grambling State Sports Information:
GRAMBLING, La. | Shakyla Hill, who was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Women’s Basketball Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday, posted a double-double with a game-high 22 points and 10 assists as Grambling State advanced to the 2019 Toyota SWAC Women’s Basketball Tournament Semifinals with a 72-61 victory over Texas Southern at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
Grambling State (16-15), the fourth seed, advanced to Friday’s semifinals and will meet top seed Southern at noon at Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham, Ala. In addition, Friday’s semifinal game will be streamed live on ESPN3. The Jaguars reached the semifinals with a 51-44 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday. Texas Southern ends its season at 15-15.
Hill, who went 6-of-9 from the floor and 10-of-16 from the free-throw line, led all scorers with 22 points, 10 assists, five steals and five rebounds. Takerra Parsons came off the bench and provided 14 points and six boards, while Jazmin Boyd registered 12 points, two steals and two rebounds.
Niya Mitchell paced Texas Southern with 17 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and two steals. Richelle Velez recorded 13 points, while Makenna Pouengue and Marquia Turner each added 10 points.
Turning Point
Texas Southern took a 47-46 lead late in the third period after a free throw by Alaysia Ready, but Grambling State quickly answered and grabbed a 53-47 advantage after a pair of free throws by Shakyla Hill with 1:31 remaining in the quarter.
TSU closed the gap to 53-51 after a Niya Mitchell bucket with 9:09 remaining, but GSU used a 12-4 run over the next seven minutes to take a 66-55 lead with just under three minutes left.
Texas Southern was unable to recover from the huge deficit as Grambling State moved on to Friday’s semifinals.
Inside the Numbers
> Grambling State was 24-of-51 (41.7 percent) shooting and 21-of-29 (72.4 percent) from the charity stripe
> Texas Southern shot 43.9 percent (25-of-57) from the field and 50.0 percent (7-of-14) from the free-throw line
> GSU registered 27 rebounds, including 16 on the defensive glass
> TSU pulled down 37 rebounds, with 19 coming on the offensive end
> Grambling State finished with 34 points in the paint, 23 points off 17 TSU turnovers, 21 bench points, 12 second-chance points and two fastbreak points
> Texas Southern tallied 38 points in the paint, 15 second-chance points, 10 bench points, eight points off 12 GSU turnovers and two fastbreak points
News & Notes
> Grambling State has won 10 or more conference games for the past four seasons
> Grambling State reaches the Toyota SWAC Semifinals for the fourth straight year
> Shakyla Hill has posted double figures in scoring in 30-of-31 games this season
> Shakyla Hill has scored 15 or more points 74 times during her collegiate career
> Jazmin Boyd has scored in double figures 77 times in her collegiate career
> Shakyla Hill moved into third place all-time in GSU scoring, surpassing Tarcha Hollis mark of 2,031
> Shakyla Hill has 925 career rebounds, which ranks second in the GSU record books
> Shakyla Hill has 488 career steals, which is a Grambling State and SWAC record
> Shakyla Hill has 6012 career assists, which is a Grambling State record
> Jazmin Boyd moved into eighth all-time in career points with 1,347. She needs 22 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)
> Shakyla Hill was named the SWAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday
Up Next
Grambling State, the fourth seed, advanced to Friday’s semifinals and will meet top seed Southern at noon at the Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham, Ala. Friday’s semifinal game will be streamed live on ESPN3.
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