PRAIRIE VIEW – Despite a double-double from Kennedi Heard, Prairie View A&M women's basketball (1-3, 0-1 SWAC) was unable to sustain a first-half lead during a 51-44 setback at Southern Saturday afternoon at F.G. Clark Activity Center to begin Southwestern Athletic Conference play. 

How it Happened:

Riding its defense from the opening tip, the Panthers were able to stymie the Jaguars early while Kennedy Paul carried the Panthers offense through the first quarter. Paul outscored Southern on her own through the first five minutes of the game, and Rosenthal punctuated the opening period with a pull-up jumper to send PVAMU into the second quarter with a 12-8 lead.

From there, Heard found her stride, powering a 12-4 Panthers run that ballooned their advantage to double digits. After a Tiffany Tullis lay-up put the Panthers up 12 with 2:24 left in the half, the Jaguars scrapped together an 8-2 run to cut the deficit in half. Rosenthal later buried a three at the buzzer to give PVAMU a 31-22 lead at the break.

However, the roles reversed over the course of the second half, as the Panthers went cold from the floor. Southern capitalized and – thanks to an 18-8 scoring advantage in the third quarter – took a 40-39 lead into the final quarter. The Panthers couldn't find an offensive rhythm the rest of the way, allowing the Jaguars to salt away the remainder of the game.

Top Performances: 

Rosenthal and Heard led PVAMU with 11 points each, while Heard snagged 10 rebounds. Tiffany Tullis posted seven points, five rebounds and a block.

Next Up:  

Prairie View A&M returns to action Jan. 4 at Alcorn State. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. from the Davey L. Whitney Complex in Lorman, Miss. 

Keep up with all the latest news and information for PVAMU athletics by following pvpanthers.com as well as through Twitter via the PVAMU general sports account (@PVAMUPanthers). You can also follow along on Instagram.com/pvamupanthers.  

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