LORMAN, Miss. | Turnovers took their toll on FAMU here Sunday, as the Rattlers dropped a 58-42 non-conference road decision to the Alcorn State Braves in the Davey L. Whitney Center.
FAMU (2-6) committed 45 turnovers in Sunday's setback, which led to 32 points for the Braves. The Rattlers did own a 52-31 edge in rebounding in the game, which saw the Braves shoot 33.1 percent (20 of 59) from the floor to 32.7 percent (17 of 53) for FAMU.
Graduate center Shalunda Burney-Robinson led FAMU with 10 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots. Graduate transfer Corey Staples added seven points, five rebounds and two assists. Jasmine Ballew, Asisa Royster and Mikyah Mack each finished with four points, while Alaina Rice led FAMU with eight rebounds, while Kailya Jackson and Staysha Allen each finished with six rebounds.
LaRae Rascoe led all scorers with 19 points for Alcorn State.
In the first quarter, FAMU took a 5-3 lead on a three-point play by Shalunda Burney Robinson, before the Braves reeled off nine points in a row to take a 12-5 advantage.
Kailya Jackson started a 9-1 FAMU run to close the quarter with a layup with 3:59 left making the score 12-7. Burney Robinson completed another three-point play (layup, free throw) at the 2:22 mark to pull FAMU to within two, 12-10, before the Braves hit the second of two foul shots to move ahead, 13-10.
Corey Staples sank a layup to bring FAMU within a point at 13-12 at the 1:50 mark, then Mikyah Mack hit a layup with 23 seconds left for a 14-13 lead at the end of opening quarter.
The second quarter was low-scoring, as the lead changed hands several times. Kailya Jackson's two free throws at 5:46 before the half, cut the FAMU deficit to 16-15, before Jasmine Ballew's jumper ended three minute scoring drought in the game, putting FAMU ahead, 17-16 with 2:31 left.
The two teams exchanged baskets with Staysha Allen's bucket with 43 seconds left putting the Rattlers ahead briefly, 21-20, before Alcorn's Gayla Obillo sank a layup with 20 seconds left to stake the Braves to a 22-21 halftime edge.
Alcorn opened the third quarter with an 11-2 run to build a 33-23 lead with just over six minutes left in the period, and the Braves would pull away by the end of the period, with a 23-10 surge to take a 45-31 advantage into the final 10 minutes.
The fourth period started off scoreless for nearly the first two minutes before the Braves struck first with a layup by LaRae Rascoe with 7:54 left in the game. Alcorn would close the game with a 13-11 scoring edge over FAMU.
WHAT'S NEXT: FAMU will break for Fall final exams, then return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 17 against Jacksonville University in the Al Lawson Center. Game time will be 6:00 p.m.
