ITTA BENA, Miss.  – Senior Shala Dobbins leads the Prairie View A&M women's basketball team with a season high 30 points to push past Mississippi Valley State 75-65 on Saturday at the Harrison HPER Complex.
 
"I think we came out and did a good job," Head PVAMU coach Sandy Pugh said. "Getting into the passing lanes and pressuring the basketball. I thought we established ourselves on the block and did a good job throwing the ball down. We were able to bring Shala [Dobbins] off the bench, and she came in and played very well for us. Down the stretch I thought it got a little choppy, but it was an overall good team effort."
 
Dobbins had five rebounds, one assist and one steal on 7-10 shooting and a perfect 14-14 from the free throw line. Senior center Artavia Ford followed behind with 16 points and three rebounds.
 
PVAMU scored the first points of the game off of a layup from Ford at the 9:54 mark. The teams traded points throughout the period before PVAMU went on a 7-2 run to end the quarter up 20-12.
 
The Lady Panthers started off slow in the second quarter, before junior guard Dominique Newman got PVAMU going with a made three point shot with 6:34 left in the half. The team ended the second quarter on a 6-0 run led by Dobbins.
 
Prairie View held their largest lead of the game at 11 points as they lead 37-26 going into the halftime. Dobbins led the team with 11 points.
 
The team narrowly outscored MVSU 20-18 in the third quarter. They led by as many as 16 points and went into the fourth with a 57- 44 advantage. 
 
PVAMU went on a 6-3 run to start off the fourth quarter. After having their lead shortened, Ford's made jumper at the 2:31 gave the team a steady 10 point lead at 67-57.  A made free throw shot from Ford in the closing seconds of the game ultimately sealed the team's 75-65 win.
 
The Lady Panthers will finish off their two-game road trip when they face the University of Arkansas - Pine Bluff on Monday, Jan. 28 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas at 5:30 p.m.