PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Shamiya Brooks' first double-double of the season couldn't have come at better time as the Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers outlasted Texas Southern 63-61 in an exciting, back-and-forth contest Saturday at William Nicks Arena.

Brooks, a 6-foot-4-inch junior, scored a season-high 15 points and pulled in 12 rebounds to lead the Lady Panthers (4-11) to their first Southwestern Athletic Conference victory in three tries. Brooks' double-double was the first for any Lady Panther this season.

Senior guard Jeanette Jackson added 10 points and handed out seven assists for the Lady Panthers, who won their first regular-season contest over Texas Southern in three years Saturday.

Diamonisha Sophus scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Texas Southern (5-9), which fell to 2-1 in SWAC play. Alexus Johnson tallied 13 points and eight rebounds for the Lady Tigers, while teammate Morgan Simmons chipped in 11 points.

Texas Southern held the upper hand for the duration of the first half and did not cede the lead to their hosts before halftime. The Lady Panthers shot 32 percent from the floor (10 of 31) in the first half; their inside play was successful, making nine out of 18 two-point attempts, but shot only eight percent (1 of 13) from three-point range before halftime.

The Lady Panthers found their shooting touch in the second half, making five out of their 10 3-point attempts after halftime. Jackson and Chelsey Rosier, both among the conference's Top 10 in 3-point shooting, led the Lady Panthers' outside assault. Jackson made two out of six long-range shots, while Rosier was 3-for-5 from behind the arc.

Prairie View A&M trailed by as many as nine points with three minutes left to play in the first half, but would close the gap to one point with a 8-0 on either side of halftime to make the score 31-30 barely a minute into the second half. 

A 10-2 by the Lady Panthers between the 16:16 and 12:05 marks would give the home team its first lead of the game. Rosier's 3-pointer with 12:17 remaining gave Prairie View A&M a 42-39 advantage.

The Lady Panthers appeared to pull away from their guests midway through the second half, scoring seven unanswered points to secure a 55-47 lead with 6:45 left to play. However, the Lady Tigers responded with a 9-0 run of their own, briefly reclaiming a 56-55 lead when Brianna Sidney knocked down a trey with 4:30 left to play in the game.

Not to be outdone, the Lady Panthers pieced together another 7-0 run late, this time taking a 63-58 lead with 48 seconds to play. The lead seemed safe until TSU responded with a 3-pointer of its own 35 seconds left. 

After a TSU timeout, the Tigers then forced a shot-clock violation, giving them one more chance to tie the game with four seconds left. Diamonisha Sophus got free for a long pass into the front court, but missed two tough layups before Alexus Johnson missed a desperation tip-in as time expired, preserving the victory for Prairie View A&M.

The Lady Panthers return to action next Saturday when they host Jackson State. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.