PRAIRIE VIEW - In the home opener of the 2021-2022 season, the Panthers made sure not to disappoint the more than 300s fans in attendance at the William J. Nicks Building Tuesday evening, taking down the Paul Quinn Lady Tigers 83-70.

"I was trying to make sure everyone got a taste early" said PVAMU head women's basketball coach Sandy Pugh as each basketball player had some playing time in the season opener. "All in all, a win's a win, [but] we've got to do better."

How it Happened:
A slow going for both teams early on in the first quarter, a layup by Sophomore Gerlyn Smith was the start of an 8-1 run by the Panthers that saw a 10-point lead, 23-13, at the end of the 1^st quarter.

The 2^nd quarter proved much of the same, as PVAMU slowly but surely extended their 10-point lead to 22-points with 1:50 remaining in the quarter, going into the half up 47-25. This came off of steady play from the bench who provided 15 of the Panther's 24 points in the quarter.

Following the break, the two teams traded buckets for the majority of the 3^rd as Paul Quinn nearly outscored it's first half efforts with 19 points, but was unable to slow down the Panther's offense who put up 20 in the quarter.

The Lady Tigers weren't done yet as a 12-3 run opened up the 4^th, dropping PV's lead to just 14 points. A 3-point play by Paul Quinn's Jazzmen Robinson made it a 76-68 ball game with 1:12 remaining on the clock.

A few moments later a clutch layup and free-throw by graduate student Kirdis Clark within the final minute put the game out of reach as PV held on to win 83-70.

Post-Game Notes:
- Clark (23) and Junior Diana Rosenthal (19) combined to score 42 of the Panthers 83 points
-Rosenthal, Clark, and Barbara Benson each had four steals in the contest
-Emely Rosario provided a game high six assists
-Prairie View outscored Paul Quinn in points off turnovers by a near 2:1 ratio, 33-17
-The Panthers 83 points are the most this team has scored since last year's 95-73 opener against McNeese

The Panthers will be back on the hardwood this week, traveling to Lincoln, Nebraska to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers Thursday, November 11^th, at 7 pm.

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.