HUNTSVILLE, Ala -- The Florida A&M women's basketball team got an 18-point performance from the bench, but fell 63-50 to the Alabama A&M Bulldogs on the road Saturday.
The Rattlers (5-15, 4-5) had two players score in double figures, led by Shaniyah McCarthy, who had 13 points. Tahnyjia Purifoy tacked on 10 points and Miya Giles-Jones added nine points and six rebounds.
Giles-Jones pulled down three offensive rebounds to lead an offense that racked up second chance opportunities for Florida A&M, grabbing 14 boards and turning them into 10 second chance points.
Florida A&M forced 20 Alabama A&M turnovers. The Rattlers turned those takeaways into 11 points on the other end of the floor. McCarthy's one steal led the way for Florida A&M.
How It Happened
Florida A&M struggled out of the gate, falling behind 17-10 at the end of the first quarter.
The Rattlers continued to lose ground in the second quarter and faced a 31-15 halftime deficit.
Alabama A&M continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 37-16 advantage before Florida A&M went on a 6-0 run to trim its deficit to 37-22 with 5:42 to go in the third. Alabama A&M countered and stretched its lead to 49-29 heading into the fourth. Florida A&M's bench made the most of its minutes in the period, as non-starters totaled six of the team's 14 third-quarter points.
Florida A&M came out of the third quarter break clicking on all cylinders, going on an 11-0 run to shrink the deficit to 49-40 with 5:16 to go in the contest. Alabama A&M responded and outscored the Rattlers the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 63-50. Florida A&M took advantage of eight Alabama A&M turnovers in the quarter, scoring seven points off of those takeaways.
Game Notes
» The Rattlers shared the ball well, recording an assist on 64 percent of made field goals.
» The Florida A&M bench made an impact by adding 18 points to its scoring output.
» The Florida A&M defense forced 20 turnovers.
» Florida A&M cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 14 offensive boards in the game.
» Shaniyah McCarthy led the Rattlers with 13 points.
» Florida A&M got six rebounds from both Breazia Robinson and Miya Giles-Jones.
