BOX SCORE
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Lady Panthers looked like they were in position to pick up their first victory of the season on Tuesday afternoon in Anchorage, Alaska. Prairie View A&M had executed offensively and defensively in the final two minutes, but an improbable, off-balanced prayer shot by Utah State in the final seconds led to a 69-68 loss.
Latia Williams caught fire just at the right time for the Panthers. She hit a pull-up jumper with 1:11 left in the game to give Prairie View A&M a 62-61 lead and then converted a fast break layup 50 seconds left to take a three-point lead. Then just when the Lady Panthers needed her the most, she responded to a Devyn Christensen three that tied the game at 64 with a pull-up jumper to give her team a 66-64 lead with 19 seconds left in the game.
But it was Christensen's night. The 5-7 senior guard knocked down a three while being smothered on defense at the top of the key with eight seconds left as the Aggies took a the eventual game-winning 67-66 lead. The Lady Panthers failed to get a shot off as time expired.
The Panthers took a 60-59 lead with 4:00 left in the game when Larissa Scott (10 points, nine rebounds) hit a layup with an assist from Jeanette Jackson. It was Prairie View A&M's first lead of the second half. Utah State responded with a Jenna Johnson layup with 3:37 left to take a 61-60 lead. Williams finished with 17 points eight rebounds and five assists.
Prairie View A&M struggled out of the gates in the second half, going 2-for-8 from the field while the Aggies jumped out to a 51-39 lead, taking advantage of points in the paint by Franny Vaaulu. She scored six points in the first five minutes of the second half.
The Lady Panthers eventually caught their second wind thanks to a few timely buckets by Chelsea Azore (six points) and and Kiara Etienne (21 points). Azore led the Panthers on a 15-4 run that lasted five minutes as she pulled the Panthers to within 55-54 following a turnaround jumper with 7:48 left. She scored six points during that stretch.
Two winless teams battled it out in the first half in 20 minutes that featured seven lead changes and nine shots made overall from downtown by both teams.
Freshman guard Gabrielle Scott (five points, three assists), getting extended playing time, made the most of her opportunities as she ran the offense and proved to be an outside scoring threat for the Lady Panthers. Scott drained two corner jumpers in the first seven minutes and dished out three assists en route to the Panthers jumping out to an 18-13 lead. The Aggies, however, countered with a 12-5 run of their own and eventually took a 25-23 lead following a Cristal Turner three with 8:13 left.
The Panthers turned to Williams and Etienne to keep them close. The duo combined for 23 points kept the Utah State defense on its toes by draining midrange jumpers and threes. Etienne had 13 points and was 3-for-9 from downtown in the first half. Williams had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Prairie View A&M will play the North Dakota State at 5:30 p.m. central time at Sullivan Arena in the third place game of the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout. Follow the Live Stats link for scoring updates.
