GREENWOOD, Miss. – Five Prairie View A&M players scored in double figures Saturday as the Lady Panthers overpowered the Delta Devilettes of Mississippi Valley State 78-61.
Jeanette Jackson scored 22 points and
Shaneece Stephens (pictured) scored a PVAMU career-high 13 points to lead the Lady Panthers (7-11) to their fourth consecutive victory.
The win improved the Lady Panthers' record in Southwestern Athletic Conference play to 4-2. Mississippi Valley State (2-15) lost its ninth consecutive contest and fell to 0-6 in SWAC play. The Delta Devilettes remained winless this season against NCAA Division I competition.
Three of the Lady Panthers to score in double figures Saturday came off Prairie View A&M's bench.
Chelsey Rosier poured in 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and made three out of her four 3-point attempts. She scored all 13 of her points in the second half.
Shamiya Brooks came off the bench for only the third time this season, but she didn't miss a beat as she posted her fourth consecutive double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Monique Abbs added 10 points for the Lady Panthers, matching her PVAMU career high set earlier this week at home against Grambling State.
Despite holding the lead for the last 31 minutes of the game, the Lady Panthers had to fend off a spirited challenge for the Devilettes, who played one of their stronger games of the season from a statistical standpoint. MVSU turned the ball over only 15 times, much lower than their league-worst 26.7 turnovers per game.
Kadesha Floyd scored a team-high 14 points for Mississippi Valley State. Taylor Green added 12 points and Kahdejah Stevens chipped in 10 points and six rebounds for the Devilettes. All three players came off the MVSU bench.
The Lady Panthers didn't fully seize control of the game until the second half, when they scored eight unanswered points between the 17:56 and 14:40 marks to take a 48-36 lead. The run was capped by one of Rosier's triples.
Later in the second half, a 13-2 Prairie View A&M run between the 8:52 and 4:27 marks removed any doubts as the Lady Panthers stretched their lead to 19. Abbs capped the run with a 3-pointer with 4:36 remaining to give visitors a 68-49 lead.
The Lady Panthers shot 47 percent (27 of 58) from the floor during the game, their third best showing this season. Prairie View A&M also enjoyed their best day from behind the 3-point circle this season, draining 50 percent (9 of 18) of their long-range shots against one of the best 3-point defending teams in the SWAC.
Prairie View A&M had to shake away their hosts, who were did not let the Lady Panthers run away with the game in the first half. The Panthers used a 16-3 run to establish a 33-20 lead with 6:15 left to play in the opening period. However, Devilettes were able to fight back, scoring 12 unanswered points to pull to within one of the lead with 84 seconds left before halftime. PVAMU finished the half on 5-0 run, capped by Jackson's 3-pointer with six seconds left.
All told, an all-around strong performance by the Lady Panthers allowed them to put the game away in the second half. In addition to their stellar shooting, the Lady Panthers also committed just 14 turnovers, their fewest in a game this season.
Alexus Parker added five points for the Lady Panthers.
Kaitlyn Parks made her first career start in a PVAMU uniform and scored four points on 2-of-2 shooting.
The win was Prairie View A&M's first on the road in conference play this season. It was also the fourth consecutive triumph over the Devilettes, dating back to the four-overtime, 100-87 classic Lady Panther victory in the 2013 SWAC Tournament championship.
The Lady Panthers return to action Monday when they visit Arkansas–Pine Bluff. The game time has been moved to 5 p.m. to accomodate the men's game between the two teams. That game will be aired on ESPNU starting at 8 p.m.
