Hill and Neal key Grambling State Lady Tigers in overtime win

GRAMBLING, Louisiana | Shakyla Hill and Monisha Neal reached double figures as the Grambling State University women's basketball team rallied to defeat Prairie View A&M, 81-79 in overtime in a Southestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game on Saturday afternoon at the Fredrick C. Hobdy on Saturday afternoon.

Prairie View A&M (4-11 overall, 2-2 SWAC) led 14-13 after one quarter but Grambling State (7-9, 4-1) outscored the Lady Panthers in the second quarter, 21-17, to take a 34-31 advantage into the break. The Lady Panthers led at the end of the third quarter, 56-53, but the Lady Tigers rallied and got a 3-pointer by Ariel Williams to send the game into overtime tied at 72.

Hill paced the Lady Tigers with 24 points, on 12-of-19 shooting, with eight rebounds, eight assists and four steals. Neal contributed 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks.

Shala Dobbins registered 35 points, including 7-of-17 shooting and 21-of-27 at the free-throw line. She added nine rebounds and seven assists to pace the Lady Panthers Dominique Newman tallied 22 points, four rebounds and six steals.

Turning Point
Grambling State trailed, 54-51, heading into the final quarter, but Prairie View A&M used a 8-0 run, capped by a Newman 3-pointer to grab a 62-55 advantage with 8:24 left.

The Lady Tigers trimmed the margin to 62-61 after a bucket by Alexus Williams with 6:27 left, and tied the game at 65 after a Hill layup with 4:32 remaining.

The Lady Panthers took a 72-69 lead after a Dobbins layup with 2:06 left, but Grambling State kept fighting and with 31 seconds remaining, Ariel Williams sank a 3-pointer to tie the game at 72.

Grambling State had one final opportunity to win the game in regulation as the Lady Tigers forced a stop on the defensive end, but Neal's shot as time expired fell short to send the game into overtime.

In the extra period, the Lady Tigers raced out to a 78-73 lead after a Hill layup with 1:51 remaining, but the Lady Panthers cut the deficit to 81-79 after a Newman 3-pointer with 1:11 left.

Despite closing the gap to two points, Prairie View A&M couldn't get any closer as the Lady Tigers picked up their second consecutive conference win.

Inside The Numbers
* Grambling State shot 42.9 percent (30-of-70) from the floor and 69.2 percent (18-of-26) from the free-throw line.
* Prairie View A&M was 22-of-69 (31.9 percent) from the field and 31-of-39 (79.5 percent) from the charity stripe.
* The Lady Tigers finished with 43 rebounds, including 32 coming off the defensive glass.
* The Lady Panthers tallied 52 rebounds, with 18 coming on the offensive end.
* Grambling State finished with 29 bench points, 44 points in the paint, 27 points off turnovers and six fast break points.
* Prairie View A&M registered 26 points in the paint, six bench points, 27 points off turnovers and 14 second-chance points.
* There were 14 ties and 17 lead changes.

BOX SCORE

News & Notes
*Shakyla Hill was honored between the men's and women's basketball game for her 1,000-point plateau she reached on Dec. 10 during a loss at Alabama.
* Monisha Neal now needs just 32 points to reach 1,000 points for her career.
* Saturday's game was Military Appreciation Day at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.

Up Next
The Lady Tigers will take on Texas Southern in a SWAC match up on Monday. Tip-off for the SWAC Digital Network game is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.

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