The Lady Tigers had an exciting night on the road against the Jackson State University (4-3 SWAC, 6-11 overall), as they had five players in double figures, on the way to a 79-68 win.
Victoya Ricks led the way with 16 points in the Saturday matchup.
“Victoya knows that we need her to come through and so she stepped it up really big,” said assistant coach Lou Hamilton.
Joanna Miller had 15 points, Dennisha Chambers had 14, Jasmine Godboldt had 13, and Jessica Watkins squeezed in a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Lady Tigers (4-3 SWAC, 7-11 overall) ended their two-game losing streak as they hit the road again for the fifth time in conference play.
“It was most definitely great to get the victory, especially on the road,” said Hamilton. “So, it’s a great feeling to come back after a tough game and winning.”
Both Lady Tiger teams were neck and neck to begin the game. Then a layup by Ricks at 2:42 left in the first half caused Grambling to gain a controlled lead.
At halftime Grambling was up 47-35. Eleven of those points came from free throws, which played a key role in this game.
Grambling made over 80 percent of its free throws on Saturday night.
“That’s one of the things we’ve really been harping on: getting our free throw percentage up,” said Hamilton, “…which really wins ball games.”
The Lady Tigers did, in fact, catch this win, and that put them back up in the Southwestern Athletic Conference rankings to No. 3.
“We were predicted to be fifth or so, and right now, anytime you can exceed expectations it shows that the program is going in the right direction,” said HamiltonGrambling is now set to go up against the lowest ranked team in the conference, University of Arkansas- Pine Bluff. The Lady Tigers cannot take them lightly. UAPB averages 54 points per game. Their leading scorer is Christina Lasane who averages 11.8 points per game had a season high of 28 points against Alcorn on Jan. 20.
UAPB is 0-7 in SWAC, however they are striving for their first win in conference play.
“We cannot overlook anyone,” said Hamilton. “We got to most definitely play our best basketball.
The Lady Tigers will be facing UAPB on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at the K.L. Johnson Complex in Pine Bluff, Ark.