The Lady Panthers had a devastating loss against the Grambling Tigers at the William “Billy” J. Nicks Building on Monday. The final score was 65-68 leaving Prairie View A&M University defeated, but the Lady Panthers still gave support to the Breast Cancer Association.
The Collegiate Cancer Council paired up with the Lady Panthers in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. They sold raffle tickets to raise money for the foundation, and honored five women from the faculty who are survivors of breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosis among women nationwide. Statistically, 95 out of 100,000 African-American women are diagnosed with breast cancer. African American women are also more likely to develop breast cancer before the age of 50. A recent study found that tumor cells in African-American women grow more rapidly, and concluded that this could lead to more aggressive cancers at an earlier age. This study also found that African-American women may be less responsive to hormone treatment. The five-year breast cancer survival rate for African-American women is 69 percent.
The first half of the game was dry, until the Lady Tigers took a 6-2 lead in the opening three minutes with a lay-up by Whitney Brown. Prairie View took a brief 8-6 lead with a three-pointer by Candice Thomas at the 16:02 mark.
The teams exchanged leads twice with Grambling claiming the lead 14-12 at the 13:26 mark, and maintaining it throughout that half.
The Tigers continued to take advantage of the court and score board until Dominique Smith obtained a three-pointer tying the score 30-30. Eventually, the first half ended with the Tigers leading again 30-32 with a lay-up by Wyneishia Randle.
The Lady Panthers finally picked up the pace with a jumper by Banks at 18:24 mark with a 36-34 lead in the second half. The Lady Tigers continued to trail the Lady Panthers with Smith shooting two free throws bringing the lead to 41-37.
The Lady Tigers continued to score points right after Prairie View A&M not giving up and tied the game again 54-54 with two free throws by Jasher Blocker. The crowd began to get intense in the last 24 seconds of the game; both teams dominated the court making shot for shot. Rachele Dobbins made two free throw shots at the three second mark winning the game 68-65.
Grambling (10-12, 7-6 SWAC) was led by Blocker with 21 points and four rebounds. Kiara Marshall and Kristen Harper had nine points each, while Secrett Anderson added six points and six rebounds. The Lady Panthers (13-8, 10-2 SWAC) were led by Smith’s game highs, 31 points and eight rebounds. Candice Thomas added 12 points.
The Lady Panthers took yet another win this past Saturday against the Lady Tigers of Jackson State. The game took place at home for the Panthers as they fought hard to defend their title. In the end, they were victorious beating the Tigers 64-40.
The game began with the Panthers going full force. Smith smoked her opponents by doing what she did best and set the game in motion with a score of 8-2 in the early half, but that didn’t stop the Tigers as the game sustained.
They began to push the Panthers by forcing three turnovers that brought the score neck and neck (11-10) with 12:08 left in the first half. Following the first half, Jackson State gained a point after a free throw shot making it a tie between the two schools.
The battle continued through the first half and the score was tied on three occasions. The Lady Panthers stood tall as they went point for point with the Tigers and the lead was finally taken when Thomas bulldozed her way through the Tiger’s defense and gave the Panthers a three-point lead for the rest of the first half.
Smith continued to shine in the first half by scoring five out of seven shots and gained two rebounds. With seconds to halftime, Robin Jones beat the buzzer and gave the Lady Panthers the lead at 31-28.
The Lady Panther’s Robin Jones picked up the second half by scoring the first basket of the half. Prairie View had no mercy when it came to defense and set the score at 11-10, pushing Prairie View to a total of 15 points.
Jackson State was held by the Lady Panthers to four of 37 shooting from the field in the second half, which in turn broke the Lady Tigers who suffered from poor shooting. In the end, the Panthers came through setting the margin to 24 points.
Candice Thomas scored 15 points, along with two assists and one steal. Smith and Robin Jones followed her lead with 14 points. Banks, who also got ten rebounds and one steal, scored nine points.