PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – The Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers led from start to finish Monday as they defeated Mississippi Valley State 80-57.
 
At Prairie View A&M's William J. Nicks Arena, Lamaria Cole scored 22 points and handed out five assists to lead the Lady Panthers to their third consecutive win. Teammate Alexus Parker tallied 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting and three assists for Prairie View A&M.
 
"One thing we've been preaching to Alexus is consistency. She's capable of having 20-point games night in and night out.," head coach Dawn Brown said. "Her focus level is going to have be a little higher so she will be able to get past the 20-point mark regularly and be a more consistent contributor for us."
 
The Lady Panthers (8-8, 4-3 SWAC) needed less than two and half minutes to score the first seven points of the game and led 11-1 at a minute later. Cole opened the scoring with a 3-pointer 47 seconds in and scored seven of PVAMU's first 11 points.
 
Mississippi Valley State (3-14) fell to 1-6 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play. The Delta Devilettes have lost six consecutive league games since a 62-60 win over Arkansas–Pine Bluff on Jan. 4.
 
PVAMU's Larissa Scott scored 10 points and pulled in 10 rebounds to claim her SWAC-leading seventh double-double of the season. She made five out of her six field-goal attempts.
 
Freshman center Ereyanna Magee scored her first collegiate points Monday for the Lady Panthers. The only underclassman on the roster, Magee scored five points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field; she also grabbed a collegiate best six rebounds.
 
Ashley Beals and Christina Reed, the top scorers this season for Valley, led the Delta Devilettes with 17 points and 14 points, respectively. Each player pulled in six rebounds MVSU.
 
The Lady Panthers head to Alabama for their next two contests. They open the two-game road trip Saturday at Alabama A&M. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
 
TWEET of the GAME:

Lady Panthers have a show total dominance in the first half of play!! They end Q2 up 40-22 over MVSU! #GoPanthers

— Jourdan Kerl (@JourdanKerl) January 26, 2016

 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Lady Panthers made six of their first eight field goal attempts in jumping out to a 15-6 lead halfway through the first quarter. They scored the first seven points of the game, and after Valley got on the board at the 7:19 mark with a free throw from Beals, Cole stretched the lead to 10-1 with her second 3-pointer of the game on the ensuing possession.
 
After trailing by as many as 10 points at the 6:42 mark of the first quarter, the Devilettes responded with an 10-4 to pull to within four points of their hosts at 15-11. Zemoria Jernigan made all three of her field goal attempts in the first quarter during that stretch, capping the run with a layup with 3:52 remaining in the period.
 
The PVAMU lead kept swinging between four and six points for the remainder of the period, with the Lady Panthers holding a 23-17 lead going into the second quarter. The Lady Panthers pulled away for good early in the second quarter, as 3-pointers from Cole and Monique Abbs stretched the home team's lead to 29-17 with 8:39 remaining before halftime.
 
The Devilettes would get as close as 11 points when Reed knocked down a 3-pointer at the 6:10 mark of the second quarter to cut the PVAMU lead to 31-20, but the Lady Panthers responded by outscoring their guests 10-2 over the remainder of the period.  PVAMU took a 40-22 lead into halftime, and never let its lead slip below 16 points for the remainder of the game.
 
QUOTE of the GAME:
"Ereyanna Magee did a phenomenal job coming off the bench today. I'm so proud of her."
– Prairie View A&M head coach Dawn Brown after Magee's five-point, six-rebound showing. Magee, the only underclassman on the team, scored her first points of the season.
 
GAME NOTES: