COLLEGE PARK, Ga. --The Florida A&M women's basketball team went into halftime tied 30-30 with Alabama A&M, but could not take control in the second half and fell 72-68 to the Bulldogs at The Gateway Center Arena at College Park Wednesday.
The Rattlers had three players score in double figures, led by Miya Giles-Jones, who had 17 points and nine rebounds. Shaniyah McCarthy added 16 points and Cornelia Ellington helped out with 10 points and three steals off of the bench.
Led by Giles-Jones' six offensive rebounds, Florida A&M did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 16 boards that resulted in 24 second chance points.
How It Happened
After falling behind 4-2, Florida A&M went on a 7-0 run with 7:33 left in the first quarter, culminating in a bucket from McCarthy, to take a 9-4 lead. The Rattlers then added two points to that lead by the end of the period and entered the quarter break with a 15-8 advantage. Florida A&M did most of its first quarter damage in the paint, scoring eight of its 15 points close to the basket.
The Rattlers surrendered their lead in the second quarter and entered halftime with the score tied 30-30. Florida A&M was strong from deep in the period, knocking down two three-point shots to account for six of its 15 points.
Alabama A&M proceeded to claw their way ahead after halftime, leaving Florida A&M trailing 48-46 as the game entered the fourth quarter. Florida A&M took advantage of four Alabama A&M turnovers in the quarter, scoring four points off of takeaways.
Alabama A&M kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 60-53 advantage before Florida A&M went on an 11-0 run, finished off by McCarthy's three, to seize a 64-60 lead with 3:04 to go in the contest. Alabama A&M re-asserted control, outscoring the Rattlers 12-4 the rest of the way to hand Florida A&M the 72-68 loss. Florida A&M pulled down nine offensive rebounds to score 16 second chance points out of 22 total in the period
Game Notes
» Tahnyjia Purifoy recorded 10 assists for Florida A&M.
» Florida A&M cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 16 offensive boards in the game.
» Miya Giles-Jones led the Rattlers with 17 points.
» Florida A&M got a team-high nine rebounds from Miya Giles-Jones.
