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The Prairie View A&M men's and women's basketball teams begin SWAC play Saturday afternoon with a match-up against Southern beginning at 3 p.m. inside the William Nicks Building on the Prairie View A&M campus. The contest will be broadcast on KPVU 91.3 FM. A special discounted ticket is also available by clicking the above link.
After a rough non-conference slate, the defending SWAC Tournament Champion Lady Panthers looks to bunker down and defend their title led by a group of veterans which are accustomed to winning big games.
Junior point guard Jeanette Jackson has been the pillar of stability for Prairie View A&M interim head coach Dawn Brown. Averaging 16.1 points, 3.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds per contest, Jackson has nearly doubled her scoring average from the 2012-13 season while also improving her assist and rebounding numbers. Taking on more of a floor leader role, Jackson is the fifth-leading scorer in the SWAC and the second-leading scorer in terms of point guards.
An injury slowed down Prairie View A&M junior forward Larissa Scott through the first eight games, but she has produced two-consecutive double-doubles for the Lady Panthers since healing. Scott is putting up 7.4 points and is third in the SWAC with an average of 8.4 rebounds per game.
Scott's play could be the difference-maker in the game considering the looming battle at the point guard position between Jackson and Southern sophomore Kendra Coleman. Coleman averages 19.1 points and two assists for the Lady Jaguars. With two of the premiere perimeter players in the SWAC facing off today in the Baby Dome, the role players and bench production will be key factors to starting off with a winning conference record for both teams.
The Panthers have been road warriors up to this point as they've played nine consecutive contests on the road dating back to Nov. 19. The team has dropped five consecutive contests and is coming off an 80-43 loss to nationally ranked Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon in Madison, Wis.
Returning only one starter entering the season, the Panthers have been a work in progress up to this point with a variety of starting lineups used to generate a spark. Junior guard Montrael Scott has been Prairie View A&M's most consistent performer up to this point with a team-high scoring average of 14.2 points per contest while shooting 49 percent from the three-point line. Senior forward Demondre Chapman has come on strong over the past few games as the Flint, Mich. native has increased his scoring average to 11.5 points per game and 4.6 rebounds. Senior shooting guard Louis Munks follows with 9.7 points along with 9.6 points from fellow guard John Brisco. Junior point guard Tre Hagood has been deft at distributing the ball with an average of 4.7 assists per outing.
Picked to finish second in the SWAC Preseason Poll, the Jaguars arrive at Prairie View A&M with a 3-9 non-conference mark and a five-game winning streak over the Panthers under third-year head coach Roman Banks. After dropping a pair of games to nationally ranked programs in December, the Jaguars closed out non-SWAC play with a vengeance as they defeated Champion Baptist 116-12. Like the Panthers, the Jaguars are trying to find a solid rotation due to the loss of three key starters from last year's team.
Both teams will close out its homestand on Monday night with a contest versus Alcorn State beginning at 5:30 p.m.
