Saturday, March 13, 2010

Alabama State outmuscles Alabama A&M

Alabama State University Lady Hornets Coach Freda Freeman-Jackson

BOSSIER CITY, La. - The Alabama A&M women's basketball team's dream of reaching its first SWAC tournament championship game died Friday at the hands of a familiar foe. Alabama State closed Friday's semifinal game on an 11-4 run over the final 3:50 to end the Bulldogs' season with a 61-53 loss. A&M (16-13) entered the semifinal game as a higher seed for the first time and had swept the Hornets during the regular season.

Alabama State controlled the physical nature of the game, especially over the last 15 minutes. Conference player of the year Katrich Williams' only 3-point basket of the game at the 16:38 mark gave A&M a five-point lead at 32-27. Williams finished with a game-high 24 points, but struggled to free herself from Alabama State's defensive pressure. "There were a lot of bumps and pushes out there," A&M coach Altherias Warmley said. "We needed to be more responsive to their physical play, and we failed to do that today."

The Bulldogs' response to the physical play came to a head with 1:41 to play in the first half when Chelsea Marshall and Alabama's Erica Henderson entangled on an off-ball screen. Henderson was tagged with a personal foul, but officials determined that Marshall threw a punch in the altercation and was ejected. "Clearly my player made an inappropriate reaction to that situation," Warmley said.

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