GRAMBLING, La. --  Thanks to a big second quarter, the Prairie View A&M women's basketball team earned its first Southwestern Athletic Conference win after defeating Grambling State 67-54 Saturday evening at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center..
 
"We showed toughness," PVAMU Head Coach Sandy Pugh said. "The last couple of games we've had 24 or 25 turnovers, but we went to the boards to rebound. I think those were two of our biggest keys. We controlled the tempo the entire game. Our guard play got better -- and it needs to continue to get better -- but our energy was there. We stayed up and we stayed focused."
 
The Panthers opened the game on a 5-1 run but Grambling State responded with seven unanswered points to take an 8-5 lead. Senior Dominique Newman buried a three to push Prairie View A&M ahead 10-9, but Grambling scored four quick points to surge ahead. A layup from senior Ke'Asia Williams stopped the Tigers' momentum, and a three-pointer from senior Bernesha Peters tied matters at 15 going to the second.
 
Prairie View A&M dominated the frame to the tune of an 18-4 scoring advantage. Following an 8-0 run led by Williams, Newman led the team on a 10-4 run that gave PVAMU a 33-19 lead going into halftime. 
 
Graduate transfer Tatyana Perez nailed a jumped to open up the Panthers' offense in the third quarter. Despite a 5-0 spurt from Grambling State, the Panthers continued to keep the game under control, as a quick jumper from freshman Kennedi Heard, followed by a three-pointer from Peters extended their lead to 43-26, but Grambling State closed the frame on a 9-3 run to cut the Panthers' lead to 11.
 
During the fourth quarter, a layup from freshman Kennedy Paul pushed the score to 48-35. Grambling State responded with a three-pointer, but freshman Diana Rosenthal answered with another quick layup that kept the Panthers ahead by 12. Despite some foul trouble that kept Grambling State in the game, the Panthers never lost their handle on matters, cruising to the win.
 
Williams led the team with 16 points and 11 rebounds on 6-of-9 shooting. Peters also posted 16 points, along with four rebounds and four steals. Newman was effective all around as she contributed nine points, four steals, three assists and three rebounds.
 
Next Up:
The Panthers will polish off their three-game road trip with a matchup against Jackson State on Monday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Jackson, Miss.