Lady Lions win at Grambling
Two of the best offensive teams in the SWAC played a surprisingly low-scoring game Monday night, but the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff women’s basketball team got it done on the road.
UAPB ended Grambling State’s five-game winning streak by defeating the Lady Tigers 56-49 in Grambling, La.
Entering this game, UAPB (10-10, 5-2 SWAC) led the conference in scoring with 78.2 points per game. Grambling was third, averaging 75. Both teams set new season lows in SWAC play.
UAPB hadn’t held a SWAC opponent below 52 points until this game. Grambling (11-7, 5-2) has held two opponents below the 56 UAPB scored.
The Lady Lions shot 31.7 percent from the field but held the Lady Tigers to 26.3 percent. GSU entered the game with the best 3-point percentage in the SWAC but made just 2 of 26 attempts.
GSU guard Kahia Warmsley entered the night with the SWAC’s second-best 3-point percentage but missed all 6 of her attempts and finished with 8 points.
UAPB guard Zaay Green scored a game-high 14 points and collected 10 rebounds. Kaila Walker added 11 points, and Jelissa Reese scored 10.
GSU forward Anijah Grant led the Tigers with 11 points and 17 rebounds.
After beating Southern 74-59 on Saturday, this win means UAPB finished the conference weekend by sweeping two of the better teams in the SWAC on the road. Grambling entered this game alone in second place, but UAPB is now tied with the Lady Tigers and controls the tiebreaker. Neither Southern nor GSU travels to Pine Bluff this season.
Grambling led 5-1 early before Green hit UAPB’s first shot from the field with 6:08 remaining in the first quarter. Walker gave the Lady Lions their first lead a little over a minute later with a 3-pointer. GSU retook the lead briefly before Green tied the game with a 3-point play and Demetria Shephard made a go-ahead 3-pointer.
The Lady Lions started the second quarter on a 6-0 run, but the Lady Tigers came back to tie the game at 20. UAPB didn’t surrender the lead, though, instead going on an 11-0 run, aided by a Shephard 3-pointer and a flagrant foul called against Grambling’s Brenda McKinney, which led to two made free throws from Walker.
GSU finished the half on a 6-1 run, but UAPB led 32-26 at halftime. UAPB extended its lead to 4129 with 2:43 to play in the third quarter after a Walker 3-pointer, but Grambling came roaring back.
GSU point guard Jordyn Carter beat the third quarter buzzer from just beyond halfcourt by the sideline, an incredible shot which cut the UAPB lead to 41-38. A free throw early in the fourth extended GSU’s run to 10-0, but Reese ended the streak with a midrange jumper.
The Lady Tigers tied the game twice early in the fourth, but Green hit shots both times to retake the lead. GSU failed to take the lead despite having a couple of open layups. Shephard nailed a 3-pointer with just under a minute to play to make it a two-possession game, helping seal a big win.