BOX SCORE

The Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers held off a late surge by Jackson State to close out a 59-53 win at home Monday night thanks to stingy defense and a clutch second-half performance by senior forward Latia Williams.

Prairie View A&M had a 10-point advantage on Jackson State to start the second half and led by as much as 16 before Jackson State tried to forge a comeback. Williams and her 17-point, five assist performance was a monster part of that second-half surge which gave the Lady Panthers that insurmountable, 16-point lead. 

She found her mark in the second half, scoring each of her points in the final 20 minutes. The SWAC's second-leading scorer hit a jumper with 14 minutes left to give the Lady Panthers a 40-27 lead. Freshman center Shamiya Brooks followed it up with a put-back layup and a free-throw shot with 11:59 left as Prairie View finished a 5-0 run to take a 43-27 lead. The Lady Panthers outscored Jackson State 13-7 in the first nine minutes of the first half.

 Jackson State decreased the Lady Panthers' lead in the final minute to as little as five points by outscoring Prairie View 26-16 over the final 11 minutes. JSU senior center Tiffany Kellum made a layup with one minute left to cut the Lady Panthers' lead to 58-53

Prairie View A&M found its stride late in the first period, outscoring Jackson State 18-8 in the last 11 minutes to go into the locker room with a 30-20 lead at the half. JaQuandria Williams scored six of her eight first half points in a five-minute, 8-2 run that was capped off with a Larissa Scott layup with 5:40 left in the half to give the Lady Panthers a 20-12 lead. Prairie View A&M held its opponent at bay for the remainder of the half and limited Jackson State to 33 percent shooting from the field.

JaQuandria Williams along with Jeanette Jackson had eight points at the half. Both players proved to be pivotal in the Lady Panthers success against the Jaguars. JaQuandria Williams finished with 10 points and nine rebounds

Prairie View A&M (6-9, 3-2 SWAC) hits the road to face Mississippi Valley State at 3 p.m. on Saturday in Itta Bena, Miss. before taking on Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 5:30 p.m. on Monday to close out its road trip.