PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas - The Prairie View A&M women's basketball team tops Jackson State 66-64 in SWAC Tournament action on Tuesday evening inside the William J. Nicks Arena.
 
Shala Dobbins led the Lady Panthers in scoring with 29 points on 58 percent shooting from the field. Dominique Newman tallied 10 points, two rebounds, four assists and two steals in 36 minutes of action. Talisha Presley added eight points, three rebounds, and three assists, while Jhyrah Cobb posted her third double-double of the season, registering 11 points and snatching 21 rebounds in 21 minutes of action off the bench.
 
The Lady Panthers broke slow out of the gates, allowing JSU to take a 10-2 in the early going. The Purple and Gold finished the quarter strong, outscoring JSU 8-0 to close the quarter thanks to timely baskets from Cobb and Dobbins. At the end of the first quarter the score was tied at 10.
 
The opening minutes of the second quarter was a back and forth affair. A La'Neique Nealey layup tied the game at 19 with less than six minutes to go in the first half.  The game remained highly contested in the following minutes, however the Lady Tigers outscored PVAMU 10-6.  JSU led by as many as half a dozen as the quarter came to a close. At halftime PVAMU trailed 29-25.
 
Presley reduced the JSU advantage to one as she nailed a three pointer 23 seconds into the second half, but the Tigers eventually stretched their lead to as many as seven in the following minutes. Prairie View responded, going on an 8-2 run to make the score 37-36 with 5:54 left in the quarter. The run was keyed by buckets from Newman, Cobb and Dobbins. JSU promptly took control of the remainder of the quarter, leading by as many as 10 during the waning minutes of the third. The Lady Panthers cut into the lead as a Presley three pointer cut the lead to five with less than a minute to go in the quarter.  Heading into the final quarter, Prairie View trailed 52-47.
 
The Lady Panthers played well to start the last ten minutes of play, as a Presley bucket cut the lead to 52-49 early in the quarter. Nealey, buried a pair of free throws from the charity stripe to cut the Lady Tigers lead to one with 7:20 left.  The game remained a nip and tuck affair in the subsequent minutes, Dobbins returned to the line and drained three consecutive free throws to knot the game at 58-58. A Newman steal and layup gave the Lady Panthers the lead with less than five minutes left to go in regulation. Minutes later Newman hit a jumper from the free throw line giving PVAMU a 62-60 advantage with 2:31 left to go in the game. A Dobbins layup gave PVAMU a 64-62 lead with 1:03 ticks remaining on the clock. A key stop on the defensive end and clutch free throws made by Dobbins sealed the win for the Purple and Gold.
 
"Jackson State is a really great team," said head PVAMU women's basketball coach Ravon Justice.  "Coach Dixon does a really great job with her kids and we knew that it would be tough coming in. Out players stepped up in big situations and made plays in the third and fourth quarter and we were able to come out with the win."
 
The Lady Panthers will travel to Houston, Texas to take on Southern in the semi-final round of the 2018 SWAC Tournament at the Delmar Fieldhouse. Tipoff is set for a noon.