PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Four Prairie View A&M players scored in double-figures Saturday as the Lady Panthers defeated Arkansas–Pine Bluff 70-55 for their second consecutive win.
Lamaria Cole and
Lanikki McMillian scored 15 points apiece to lead the Lady Panthers (7-8), who scored 46 points in the middle two quarters and erased an 11-point second quarter deficit.
The Lady Panthers improved to 3-3 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play.
Monique Abbs added 14 points for Prairie View A&M, while teammate
Larissa Scott chipped in 12 points along seven rebounds and a game-high four blocked shots.
McMillian scored her 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field, which included a pair of successful 3-point attempts. A transfer from Itawamba (Miss.) Community College, McMillian's previous career high for points in a PVAMU uniform was five. Her six field goals and six attempts also marked PVAMU career highs.
Diamond Richardson scored a game-high 16 points for Arkansas–Pine Bluff (4-13, 1-5 SWAC). Niya Head tallied a double-double for the Lady Lions, tallying 14 points and 11 rebounds.
The Lady Panthers host Mississippi Valley State on Monday at 5:30 p.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED:The Lady Lions jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first two and half minutes of the game. That lead evaporated as the Lady Panthers scored eight of the next nine points, as McMillian tied the game at 8-8 with her first 3-pointer of the afternoon with 5:27 left to play in the first quarter.
Arkansas–Pine Bluff regrouped and finished the first quarter on a 7-2 run. The Lady Lions opened the second period with a 3-pointer by Cassidy Wright and a jumper from Head to take a 20-10 lead with 8:50 remaining before halftime. PVAMU trimmed the lead to five when
Alexus Parker converted a layup at the 6:29 mark to cap a 5-0 run and put the score at 24-19.
The Lady Lions scored the next six points and held their biggest lead of the game at 30-19 with 5:12 left until halftime. Down but not out, the Lady Panthers embarked on a 14-0 run to claim a lead they would not relinquish. They got six consecutive points from
Monique Abbs, who knocked down a trio of free throws and then cut the lead to 30-25 with a 3-pointer off a pass from Parker with 2:47 remaining.
Following a missed jumper by Head, Parker then took a pass from Abbs and drained a 3-pointer of her own to cut the visitors' lead to two points. Abbs then gave the Lady Panthers a 31-30 lead when she drained another 3-pointer, this one off a pass from
Larissa Scott with 1:44 remaining. After another missed shot from Pine Bluff, Scott capped the run with a jumper in the paint with 1:11 remaining.
After a Cole 3-pointer right before the quarter ended gave PVAMU a 36-32 halftime lead, the Lady Panthers continued to surge after the break as they outscored Arkansas–Pine Bluff 13-2 over the first five and a half minutes of the third quarter.
The Lady Panthers outscored UAPB 46-26 in the middle two periods, taking the second quarter 26-17 and outscoring their opponents 20-9 in the third quarter.
TWEET of the GAME: GAME NOTES: