Big Second Half Moves Marquette Past Prairie View A&M

ST. THOMAS, U.S.V.I – Prairie View A&M couldn't hold on to its halftime lead as they suffered a 71-51 loss to Marquette on Friday night in its second game of the Paradise Jam Tournament.

The Lady Panthers held a 33-31 lead after the first half of play. However, Marquette started the second half off on a 6-0 run to take a 37-33 lead within the first two minutes. The Golden Eagles would build on that run and build their lead to as much as 20 points, using their size and numbers to wear Prairie View A&M down in the paint.

"They obviously knew they had a size advantage inside," Prairie View A&M head coach Toyelle Wilson said. "We didn't do the correct things we were supposed to do in the half court defense. I think we gave up early. It was a disappointment, because we were up at the half by two."

Marquette scored 50 points in the paint and out-rebounded Prairie View 43-to-25. Most of those points came from Golden Eagles 6-3 forward Katherine Plouffe, who finished with a game-high 22 points.

The Lady Panthers and Marquette battled back-and-forth in the first half. There were six lead changes and four ties during the first 20 minutes. The Lady Panthers led for most of that time, thanks to another stellar performance from freshman guard Jeanette Jackson, who scored in double figures for the second game in a row. Jackson had 12 points in the first half, and was a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point territory.

Jackson was not as efficient in the second half. She only made one bucket from the field (a three-pointer) but still set a new career-high in points with 18.

"We know JJ (Jackson) is capable of that," Wilson said. "But she can't do it all by herself. You can't have a one-man show against five people. She did what she could, but we still could get more from our other people."

Kiara Etienne added 13 points for the Lady Panthers, who will finish off the Paradise Jam with a game against Washington State (3-2) on Saturday in a 4:45 match up. Live stats and video are available at the above links.

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