Despite their 82-40 loss in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament to No. 1 Baylor, the 2012-13 Lady Panthers' season performance pushed them to become the first team in Prairie View A&M's history to win three-consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Championship titles with three NCAA Tournament automatics bids.
 
Brittney Griner and the Lady Bears proved to be too much for the Lady Panthers even though Prairie View A&M came out of the gates fighting against No. 1 seeded Baylor. Trailing 22-10, Prairie View A&M embarked on a 5-0 run to cut its deficit to seven points. Latia Williams made a jumper with 11 minutes remaining in the first half off of an assist by LaReahn Washington. Gabrielle Scott then followed it up with a pull up from three-point range after a pass from JaQuandria Williams to cut Baylor's lead to 22-15.
 
"It all started with us believing that we could compete with Baylor," Latia Williams said. "For the first couple of minutes we were running with them, and the gym was quiet. It was silent. No fans were cheering or anything. We just couldn't execute. We started believing in ourselves and started to run a little bit. We just couldn't execute in the end like we wanted."
 
Scott had led Prairie View A&M with eight points at the half in just 11 minutes off of the bench. Scott finished her NCAA Tournament debut with a team-high 14 points. Latia Williams had six points going into the locker room at the half, but Prairie View A&M's efforts were overshadowed by the presence of Brittany Griner, who had 23 first half points and seven rebounds. She finished with 33 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks.
 
Following the 82-40 loss to the Bears in the first-round match on March 24, Prairie View A&M coach Toyelle Wilson wanted to emphasize the overall accomplishments of her squad – a group of players that defied the odds and etched its name into the conference and school record books.
 
"I'm incredibly proud of them: our team, our players, the seniors," Wilson said. "This game doesn't justify or define our season."
 
The Lady Panthers finished the 2012-13 season with their third-consecutive SWAC title and a 17-15 overall record under the direction of Wilson, extending their SWAC Tournament win Streak to nine games.
 
On March 16, 2013, in the SWAC Championship game, the Lady Panthers set their sights on one goal and channeled all energy into defeating the Mississippi Valley State Devils. In the final seconds of each overtime period, the Lady Panthers refused to give up, matching MVSU blow for blow in an instant classic that set a SWAC record for overtime periods in a championship game.
 
"I told coach we can go all night if we want to," senior guard Latia Williams said after the victory. "I bet they're leaving the court before we do. We came here to get the win, and we weren't leaving without it." 
 
During the fourth and final overtime of their seemingly endless match, the Lady Panthers went on a 15-2 run to won the SWAC Conference Championship in the 100-87 victory over the Devils.
 
The road to the championship was not easy for the Lady Panthers, who faced a tough matchup against longtime SWAC rival and No.1 seeded Texas Southern the night before in the semifinal round. Prior to SWAC Tournament matchup, the Lady Panthers were 0-2 in the regular season against TSU and coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, but they made adjustments when it mattered to catch the heavily-favored Lady Tigers off guard.
 
With senior guard Kiara Etienne and Williams leading the charge, the Lady Panthers took a 28-26 lead into the half.
 
Prairie View A&M managed to keep the Tigers at bay with several baskets by Jeanette Jackson from behind the 3-point line late in the game along with forcing TSU to commit 12 turnovers. The Lady Panthers ended the game with a final score of 62-58 with three-of-their-five starters scoring in double figures.
 
Two Lady Panthers' players received SWAC Tournament honors during the 2012-2013 season.
 
Latia Williams was named the SWAC Player of the Year in her final season with Prairie View. Williams finished the year with 11 double-doubles including three consecutive during the SWAC Tournament. She also led the team in points, rebounds and steals, and she became one of the few players in the Panthers' history to score over 1000 points and grab 600 rebounds in her career at Prairie View.
 
Kiara Etienne, also a senior guard, was named the SWAC Tournament MVP. She ended her SWAC season scoring a career high of 31 points against the Mississippi Valley Devils. She earned a third-team All-SWAC selection with sophomore center Larissa Scott, as well as led the Lady Panthers in 3-pointers made finishing with 52.
 
The Lady Panthers were able to maintain a perfect record in SWAC Tournament play at 9-0 spanning over three seasons. To end the 2012-13 season, Prairie View A&M won 8-of-9 games, including a program record eight-game win streak that was finished in an 82-40 loss to No. 1 seed Baylor.
 
Prior to the win streak, Prairie View A&M's season was defined by a 78-58 win over Conference USA opponent and powerhouse Memphis on Nov. 25, 2012. Redshirt freshman Grabrielle Scott was a spark for the Lady Panthers off of the bench with 13 points, two assists and two rebounds in a breakout performance.