SU women, Mississippi Valley to clash in SWAC showdown

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - Ten months ago in Garland, Texas, just before their teams met in the semifinals of Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament, Sandy Pugh and Nate Kilbert met at midcourt. There, briefly, they shared a handshake and a laugh. It was just another meeting between two friendly adversaries. One of many meetings.

After 10-plus years of matching wits and teams, the two coaches have gotten to know each other fairly well. They’ve also accounted for some of the most entertaining games in SWAC women’s basketball.

At 5:30 p.m. Monday, on Kilbert’s home floor, the R.W. Harrison Complex in Itta Bena, Miss., they meet again in what could be another show-stopper. At the moment, Pugh and Southern (5-7, 4-1) sit atop the conference standings. Kilbert and Mississippi Valley State (6-9, 3-1) are in second place, trailing by a half-game.

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SU women pull away, beat UAPB

PINE BLUFF, Arkansas — Essence Hopkins scored a career-high 19 points and led four Southern women’s basketball players in double figures as the Jaguars pulled away for an 81-62 victory over winless Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday afternoon at H.O. Clemmons Arena.

Hopkins, a junior from New York, had never led the team in scoring and never scored more than 14 in a single game.

Saturday afternoon, in a tougher-than-expected game against UAPB, Hopkins made 6 of 9 shots from the floor and 7 of 10 free throws en route to her career high. She led a team that went 35-for-45 at the free-throw line, helping the Jaguars pull away.

Southern (5-7, 4-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference) trailed the winless Lady Lions (0-15, 0-4) for a short time in the first half and led by only nine points with 13 minutes remaining.

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