PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – The Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers closed out the home portion of their 2015-16 schedule in grand fashion Monday, trouncing Alabama A&M 93-72.
 
Larissa Scott gave a farewell to her home venue in a way most athletes can only dream of; the redshirt senior from nearby Cypress, Texas scored career-high 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting. She made both of her 3-point attempts and also tallied seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
 
Prairie View A&M would lead by as many as 11 points in the first quarter, but would not pull away from the Lady Bulldogs until the fourth period, when the Lady Panthers scored 37 points, a season high for points in a quarter.
 
Three Lady Panthers ended up setting career highs of sorts in scoring Monday: Tori Carter scored 20 points, which was her highest mark ever against a Division I opponent, while Monique Abbs poured in a career-high 17 points.
 
Alexus Parker quietly chipped in 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Lady Panthers (13-12), who won their fourth straight game and improved to 9-7 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play.
 
Janie Myles, Alabama A&M's leading scorer and rebounder, tallied 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Lady Bulldogs (4-12, 3-13 SWAC). Jaylan Snowden added 12 points for visitors.
 
The Lady Panthers conclude the regular season this weekend when they visit Alcorn State and Southern. They start the two-game swing Thursday at Alcorn State; tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After claiming to a 15-point win over the Lady Bulldogs in Alabama earlier this year, the Lady Panthers were poised to cruise to their fourth straight win. PVAMU wasted no time, running off eight straight points and taking a 16-8 lead on a jumper by Scott with 3:12 left to play in the opening period.
 
But before the Lady Panthers could get comfortable, the visitors regrouped after the opening period. The Lady Bulldogs outscored PVAMU 14-3 over the first four minutes, 13 seconds of the second quarter to turn a seven-point deficit into a 29-25 lead with 5:47 left until halftime. The first half would see seven ties, including three in the second period before PVAMU took a 36-34 lead into halftime.
 
Prairie View A&M head coach Dawn Brown referred to the game as "ugly" during the first three quarters. Though the Lady Panthers shot at least 44 percent in each quarter (8 of 18 in the third period), Brown's assessment alluded to her defense not being able to shake away the Lady Bulldogs, who kept putting the ball in the basket.
 
The Lady Panthers stretched their lead to nine points with 3:29 left to play in the third quarter when Kayla Bell, a resident of the city of Prairie View and a Waller alumna, scored her first varsity points on a layup while getting fouled. With a large cheering section in two, Bell sank the ensuing free throw to push the PVAMU lead to 56-47.
 
Alabama A&M responded by ending the third quarter on a 7-0 run to cut the PVAMU lead to two points. The Lady Panthers finally pulled away with a 21-2 run between the 9:15 and 4:08 marks of the final period to stretch their lead to 77-58.
 
TWEET of the GAME:

FINAL! Larissa Scott (pictured) scores a career-high 28 points to lead PVAMU to win over @theSWAC foe Alabama A&M! pic.twitter.com/2Ryj3HgDFd

— PVAMU Women's Hoops (@PVAMUwbb) March 1, 2016

 
QUOTES:
"It was a big game and we wanted to give a good showing for our fans [in our last home game of the season]."
Larissa Scott, who scored 28 points in her final home game of her career.
 
"This was a very important win and gave us a confidence booster as we head into the SWAC Tournament."
Tori Carter, discussing the momentum Monday's performance will give the teams as they play their final regular season games this week.
 
"We were able to set the tempo and were smart on defense,"
Carter, talking about the team's 37-point fourth quarter. The Lady Panthers forced eight turnovers during the final period and scored 18 points off turnovers.
 
"It was an ugly game for the first three periods. We were just out of sync, and were trying to find ourselves defensively. This was a game I would have thought we would have been more comfortable on our defense because we just came off a good win over Alabama State."
Head coach Dawn Brown on the Lady Panthers' defensive struggles in a high-scoring game.
 
"She has been consistent since she got here. She's one of those players we are really, really proud of. We hate to see her leave, but she is going to make sure she goes out with a bang for the Lady Panthers and the Panther family."
Brown on Larissa Scott and her career night against Alabama A&M.
 
GAME NOTES: