PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – The Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers open the second round of Southwestern Athletic Conference play Saturday when they host in-state rival Texas Southern. The game will be aired on the SWAC Digital Network.

The Lady Panthers (9-8, 5-4 SWAC) concluded a 1-1 trip to Alabama with a 65-54 loss at Alabama State on Monday, which was the team's first setback in more than two weeks. The Lady Hornets snapped Prairie View A&M's four-game winning streak, its longest of the season; prior to the loss to Alabama State, the Lady Panthers claimed a 67-52 win at Alabama A&M.

Lamaria Cole (pictured) leads the Lady Panthers with a scoring average of 15.9 points per game. Her 4.1 assists per game and 3.3 steals per game leads the SWAC in both categories. Cole was named the SWAC's Player of the Week for the second time this season last week after leading the Lady Panthers to home wins over Arkansas–Pine Bluff and Mississippi Valley State.

Senior forward Larissa Scott contributes 10.9 points and a conference-leading average 10.6 rebounds per game. She is tied for 12th in the conference in scoring with teammate Alexus Parker. Parker, meanwhile, has averaged 12.0 points per game in conference play, and has been the team's leading free throw shooter since the start of the New Year, sinking 80 percent (32 of 40) of her free throws.

The Lady Panthers have two players ranked in the top 20 nationally in three statistical categories. Scott's 5.0 offensive rebounds per game ranks fourth in the nation, and she ranks 20th among NCAA Division I players in overall rebounding. Cole's 3.3 steals per game ranks fifth in the nation.

The Texas Southern Lady Tigers (12-7, 8-1 SWAC) brings the league's best overall and conference records with them on its trip up U.S. Highway 290. Alabama State ended TSU's 21-game conference winning streak Saturday with a 57-51 triumph over the Lady Tigers; the long winning streak began the week after last season's trip to Prairie View, resulting in a 63-61 Lady Panthers victory. TSU is coming off a 57-38 win at Alabama State.

Since the NCAA's women's basketball era began at the start of the 1981-82 season, the Lady Tigers lead the overall series with Prairie View A&M 37-33. The Lady Panthers' .471 winning percentage is their best mark against any of the SWAC's other six member programs that were in the conference prior to 1983. TSU has won six of the previous 10 meetings between the two teams, including a 72-65 win in Houston last month.

The Lady Tigers are led by 6-foot-4-inch senior Keiana Vines, who averages team highs of 13.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. She scored 29 points for the Lady Tigers against PVAMU earlier this season. Brianna Sidney averages 12.8 points and 2.4 assists per game for TSU, while Jazzmin Parker ranks third on the team with 11.4 points per contest.