HOUSTON – Jeanette Jackson scored 27 for Prairie View A&M, but it was not enough for the Lady Panthers as they fell 70-55 Saturday at Texas Southern.
 
Diamonisha Sophus and Ashley Ferguson both came off Texas Southern's bench to score 13 points and 10 points, respectively, and lead the Lady Tigers (12-9) to their seventh consecutive win.
 
Texas Southern, which sits in first place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference standings, improved to 9-1 in league play. Prairie View A&M (9-12), dropped its second consecutive game and fell to 6-4 in SWAC play.
 
Brianna Sidney's layup with 17:26 remaining in the first half gave the Lady Tigers a 4-3 lead, and the home team never trailed again from that point. The basket ignited a 13-2 Texas Southern run as the Lady Tigers raced out to a 15-5 lead with 13:37 remaining before halftime.
 
The Lady Panthers would twice cut Texas Southern's lead to six points in the second half, but the Lady Tiger advantage was never truly threatened after halftime. The Lady Tigers shot 45 percent (26 of 58) from the floor, while Prairie View A&M made only 33 percent (19 of 57) of their field goal attempts.
 
The 3-point circle was especially unkind to the Lady Panthers, who were 1-of-13 (8 percent) from long range Saturday. The Lady Tigers, meanwhile, shot 32 percent (6 of 19) from the 3-point arc.
 
Jackson, the leading scorer in the SWAC, scored her 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the floor. She was also 7-of-8 from the free throw line. While she found baskets easy to come by, the remaining Prairie View A&M players shot 25 percent (9 of 36) from the floor.
 
Shamiya Brooks registered her seventh double-double in eight games for the Lady Panthers, scoring 10 points and pulling in 10 rebounds. Saturday's contest also marked her eighth consecutive game pulling in double-digit rebounds, and the first time this season Brooks recorded a double-double in a losing effort.
 
Sophomore guard Alexus Parker scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds for Prairie View A&M. Asha Hampton-Finch added five points for the Lady Panthers.
 
The win by Texas Southern gave the Lady Tigers a split of the regular season series. Prairie View A&M has not won on Texas Southern's home court since 2012.
 
The Lady Panthers return to action next Saturday when they visit Jackson State to kick off a two-game road swing. Tipoff time for Saturday's contest is scheduled for 3 p.m.