March 12, 2005

From Alcorn State Athletics

BIRMINGHAM, Al. (alcornsports.com) - The Alcorn State University Women's Basketball team earned its third NCAA Tournament berth in program history with a 56-47 win over Southern University to take the 2004-05 Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament championship.

Alcorn State proved that teamwork is superior to individuality as the Lady Braves overcame an incredible one-woman show by Southern University SWAC Player of the Year Rolanda Monroe, who notched a game-high and tournament record 32 points.

The Lady Braves got kick started with a 10-0 run and never looked back from their leading the entity of the game. After both teams failed to score on their respective opening two possessions, LaToya Johnson scored the game's opening bucket at the 18:03 mark. She notched the next three Alcorn State points to give the Lady Braves a 5-0 lead.

Senior forward Tnonealyer Powers got in on the fun with a lay up, followed by the bucket and the foul to give ASU an early 10-0 lead. Ashley Blake put an end to the Alcorn State run with the first bucket of the game for Southern at the 14:21 mark.

Rasaan Powell upped the Alcorn State advantage back to 10 with a tip off a miss with 12:34 left in the half. The Lady Braves sustained that lead for the next several minutes before a three pointer by freshman point guard Tanika Nunez gave Alcorn its largest lead at that point, 19-8, with 7:45 remaining.

The Lady Braves kept Monroe in check for the first eight minutes and change. She notched her first field goal of the game with 11:14 left in the first and got two from the line less than 40 seconds later. Following the Nunez three, Monroe instantly became a factor with consecutive jumpers to pull the Jags within seven, 19-12.

Alcorn bounced the lead back to double figures with a jumper by senior reserve Vernette Skeete with 4:54 remaining. Shikhia Sims gave Alcorn a 13-point edge nearing the break with her first field goal of the game. Nunez drilled her second straight three pointer of the night the next trip down the floor to give Alcorn a 16-point advantage with 66 seconds left in the half.

In the second, Southern made its charge early pulling to within seven points of the front running Lady Braves for the second time on the day. Following a bucket by Blake, Monroe went off scoring back-to-back treys to make it a seven-point game, 33-26, with 15:08 remaining.

Sims put an end to the 8-0 SU run with a jumper, followed by another Nunez three to once again make it a double-digit margin, 38-26. Southern made its largest charge of the of the game as Monroe scored nine of the next 11 SU points, but the Lady Braves cancelled out the Monroe-effect via trading bucket for bucket. Alcorn etched its largest lead of the game on Natasha Dennis' first field goal of the night (54-37) with 6:59 remaining.

The Jags scored the last eight points to make the final appear closer than it was en route to Alcorn capturing a 56-47 victory.

Alcorn State (21-8) was led by three players in double-figures. Powell led the way with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. Powers came close to the feat as well with 12 points and nine boards, while Nunez added a new career-high 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field. Monroe matched a tournament record and established a new career-high 32 points in the losing effort for Southern. Blake added 11 in the loss. Only two other Jags scored points.

"I am so happy for my team," remarked 27th year head coach Shirley Walker, who earned her sixth conference tournament championship and third NCAA berth. "We fought all season long and overcame many obstacles along the way. This is a special championship."

Alcorn State could possibly earn a seed as high as 15 in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, but most likely the Lady Braves will suffer the daunting challenge of facing a top-seed. But Alcorn's Johnson says bring them on.

"It's a great feeling to be conference champions, but we have more to do," remarked Johnson, who finished with eight points."

Coach Walker feels her team will be able to compete with the best in the nation with competitive game's against upper-echelon team's along the liking of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Louisiana Tech and Georgia Tech. "The reason why we schedule games against opponents like that is for the tournament. We are battle tested and won't be overwhelmed like so many other teams who make the tournament in the regular season.