The Florida A&M women’s basketball team suffered a 74-69 loss to Alcorn State at home on Thursday.
The Rattlers began the game hot, maintaining a 15-point lead in the first quarter against the Braves.
It wasn’t until Alcorn State’s second quarter comeback when the game turned into an intense battle for sixth place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
Sydney Hendrix’s presence on the court had a tremendous impact on the matchup. Hendrix dropped 21 points for the Rattlers.
FAMU rotated their big men very evenly throughout tonight’s game. However, despite Alcorn State’s six-foot-three Destiny Brown towering over her, Sydney Hendrix managed to dominate the paint with not only points, but in rebounds.
Destiny Brown led the Braves with 21 points also, putting up most of her points from down low and drawing fouls.
In the last few minutes of the second quarter, the Braves took the lead for the first time all game with a monstrous and-1 by Destiny Brown.
Alcorn State stretched their lead within the last minute before the buzzer with an effortless three-pointer by guard Sharmanye Finley.
Turnovers continued to hurt the Rattlers in Thursday’s game with seven turnovers in the first half alone.
Alcorn State grappled with their three-pointers; shooting 3 for 13. Whereas, FAMU prevailed at the three with a 71.4 percentage; shooting five for seven. FAMU walked away with twice as many rebounds as Alcorn State as well.
The Rattlers started out the third quarter in a man-to-man defense and heavy press. However, Destiny Brown’s presence was felt on both sides of the court as she sealed the Rattlers’ offense in the second half with her effortless blocks.
The Rattlers took back the lead with a game-changing three-pointer by D’Mya Griffin.
But, Alcorn State crept their way back to the top when Braves’ Zy’Nyia White made a two-point buzzer-beater to end the third quarter.
The Braves ended with twice as many fouls as FAMU. A technical foul on Alcorn State Head Coach Nate Kilbert, sent the Rattlers to the free throw line to score three more points and scrape the lead.
The Rattlers stretched the lead with a four-point surge. Destiny Brown came back strong with another and-1. It was a fight until the last second of the game, but the Alcorn retained the lead and pulled out the win.
“It was a tight finish,” FAMU head coach Bridgette Gordon said. “But after the first quarter, we just relaxed.”
Coach Gordon opened up about what ultimately led to the Rattlers’ lossl.
“I think that we settled,” Gordon said. “We thought it was gonna be a walk in the park. I thought the team became very selfish. [It’s] the first time I thought we had people that were trying to go one-on-one and get their own shots, and that’s not the type of team that I have. That’s not the type of team that I built.”
The FAMU women’s basketball team is now 5-7 in SWAC and will face off against Jackson State on Saturday.
“We just got to go back,” Gordon said. “I mean the season ain’t over. We still gotta keep on fighting and hope that everything still comes together ‘cause we still got a season ahead. We got to win. We only got two games on the road out of those six, so we just got to buckle down.”
Saturday afternoon’s game will be held in the Al Lawson Center at 4 PM. For more information about the game and/or tickets, please visit www.famuathletics.com.