ITTA BENA, Miss. – Alicia Cooper's strike 30 seconds into the overtime period gave her a hat trick and preserved Prairie View A&M's winning streak Sunday as the Lady Panthers defeated Mississippi Valley State 4-3.
 
Cooper, a sophomore from Missouri City, Texas, put a quick end to Mississippi Valley State's comeback efforts and helped the Lady Panthers (6-6-1) improve to 5-0-1 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play.
 
For the first 80 minutes of Sunday's contest, the Lady Panthers were in control and on the verge of cruising easily to their fourth consecutive away victory. Cooper gave Prairie View A&M a comfortable lead with goals in the 18th and 21st minutes off passes from Breanna Powell and Kara Ballard. Arianna Rountree then stretched that lead when she added a goal less than a minute before halftime with an assist from Shelby Moore.
 
Despite being winless on the season, the Devilettes (0-9-3, 0-2-3 SWAC) were not ready to cede the match to the Panthers, as they managed six shots on goal during the opening half; however, senior goalkeeper Bianca Garza was up to the task, making saves on all six of those shots.
 
The Devilettes finally broke through late in the second half, with not one, not two, but three goals in the final 10 minutes to force an overtime period. But almost as quickly as they completed the comeback, the full effort was spoiled with Cooper's match-winning strike.
 
The win, coupled with Howard's 1-0 loss at Southern on Sunday, moved Prairie View A&M into first place on the SWAC table. The Panthers return to action Friday when they host second-place Howard at the Lady Panthers Soccer Field. Match time is scheduled for 7 p.m.