The Lady Panthers left “The Hill” with a share of first place in the conference and came back with the lone title after two impressive late game runs. The team squeaked by the Devilettes down in the Valley 60-52 and used an extra couple of minutes to overtake the Lady Lions in Pine Bluff, 83-77.
In the first game of the road trip, the Lady Panthers made the trek to Itta Bena, Miss. to take on the Devilettes of Mississippi Valley. During the first half of play, PVAMU used a stingy defense to create easy buckets as they went on a 10-2 run between the 10:16 and the 4:08 mark. MVSU eventually fell behind by 11, 30-19, before Tiffany Jackson’s three-pointer sparked a Valley 7-point-swing in the last 1:38. The Devilettes pulled the score to within four points, 30-26, at the end of the half.
The second half would prove to be just as exciting as the end of the first, with both teams vying for position. The Devilettes definitely demonstrated their competitiveness by tying the game at 40 with 13:04 left and at 44 with only 8:06 left in the game. Valley would soon take their last lead at 45-44, after Michelle Messega’s free throw shot with 7:47 left in the contest. From then on, the Lady Panthers went on a 16-7 run to end the game, with Gaati Werema nailing four free throws to end the game with a team high of 18 points. Werema also connected on all of her free throws (8-for-8) while the team dropped in 12-of-17 in the second half to pull away from the Devilettes. Candice Thomas contributed 14 points to the team effort while also shooting 100 percent from the free throw line (4-of-4). Aminata Dieye added six points and made a huge impression in the paint with three blocks and five rebounds.
The next game might go down as the SWAC’s most exciting game of the year. 732 screaming fans witnessed the Lady Panthers come back from a 17-point deficit to defeat the Lady Lions.
Pine Bluff used the home court advantage to their benefit in the first couple of minutes, taking a 7-0 lead with just under 2:30 elapsed from the play clock. The Lady Panthers finally broke up the melee when Thomas stepped behind the three-point-line and drained a long-range bomb. From then on the Lady Lions kept the Lady Panthers at bay until they went on a 12-4 in the last 7:04 of the half to go into the locker room up 37-22.
The Lady Lions came out in the second half with the same intensity that fueled their first half run. After Tashayla Jackson’s layup with 18:31 left, UAPB increased their lead to 17, their largest lead of the game. Following the layup, the Lady Panthers began to chip away at the UAPB lead behind Werema’s 23 second half and overtime points. At the 10:38 mark, Werema’s lay-up drew Prairie View within 10 points and after the basket the Lady Panthers outscored the Lady Lions 10-3 to bring the lead to three, 58-55. The game bounced back and forth between three and seven point margins before a quick PVAMU spurt put Werema on the line with the score at 64-63. With ice water in her veins, Werema knocked down both free throws to give the Lady Panthers their first lead of the game. Werema added another free throw after being fouled on the next trip down to give the team a 66-64 lead with 1:01 left in the second half. The next possession from both teams resulted in turnovers as the Lady Panthers lost the ball with 15 seconds left in the second half. After a UAPB timeout, Ciara Shields knocked down a jumper with three seconds to send the game into overtime.
During the overtime period, PVAMU took control, blazing the Lady Lions’ defense for nine points to take a 79-70 lead with just 56 seconds left in the overtime period. Pine Bluff pushed hard to get back into the contest, scoring seven points in the last minute of the game, but they fell short to the first place Panthers, 83-77.
Werema verified herself as the MVP of the game, ending with a 26 points and 12 rebound double-double performance. Thomas also proved her worth by getting all her teammates involved with 10 assists and a sensational 19 points. Twila Stokes led the team in rebounds (13) and added 11 points for a double-double while Shondria Combs netted 10 points for the Lady Panthers. This game marked the first time this year three Lady Panthers ended a game with double-doubles.
The team will now come back home to prepare for two more conference foes, Alabama State on Jan. 31. and Alabama A&M on Feb. 2. The games will both be set for 5:30 p.m. in the William “Billy” J. Nicks Baby Dome.