Iyekekpolor Leads Alcorn Past Texas Southern in SWAC Showdown

Arena Iyekekpolor scored a season-high 21 points to help Alcorn State secure a 68-54 victory over Texas Southern on Thursday night at the Health & Physical Education Arena. Nakia Cheatham also reached a milestone, scoring her 1,000th career point during the game, according to school officials.

The win keeps Alcorn (15-11, 12-3 SWAC) within 2.5 games of second-place Alabama A&M with three games remaining in the regular season. Texas Southern (9-19, 5-11 SWAC) suffered its seventh consecutive loss.

Cheatham hit a three-pointer with 2:44 remaining in the third quarter to reach 1,000 career points. Iyekekpolor shot 4-for-4 in the first quarter, scoring nine of her game-high tying 21 points. She added a three-pointer in the opening period.

Alcorn opened the game trailing 4-0 but responded with an 18-2 run over the next six minutes. The Braves’ largest lead was 33-11 after a three-pointer by Jeanee Anderson and a three-point play by Chrishunti Walker.

Texas Southern’s leading scorer, Taliyah Logwood, scored 10 points in the second quarter, helping the Tigers close the gap to 42-25 at halftime. Logwood finished with 21 points, shooting 9-for-19 from the floor. The Tigers struggled from long range, making only 1 of 23 attempts.

Alcorn shot 53.3% in the first half and 55.6% in the final 10 minutes. The Braves’ bench outscored Texas Southern’s 34-19, with Iyekekpolor contributing most of those points. The teams were even in points in the paint with 36 each.

Looking ahead, Alcorn will play its final road game of the season Saturday at Prairie View A&M, scheduled for 2 p.m. in Prairie View, Texas.

Source: Original Article