After falling 84-63 to Tulane on Wednesday in New Orleans, Mississippi Valley State University’s men’s hoops program has a little over a week off before jumping into SWAC play Jan. 2, against Alabama State.
Tulane, 7-4 overall, took a 48-23 lead into halftime, but the early deficit proved to be too much to cover for Valley, even though the Delta Devils outscored the Green Wave 40-36 in the second half.
Terry Collins was 4-of-13 from deep and was the leading scorer for Valley with 16 points. He also had three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. Rayquan Brown notched a double-double with 13 points, 15 rebounds and three assists.
Tulane’s defense was the difference in the matchup, forcing Valley to commit 20 turnovers which led to 24 fast-break points and 30 points off turnovers.
Wednesday’s loss pushes the Delta Devils to 1-13 overall before beginning SWAC competition. Valley’s upcoming game against Alabama State should be an even matchup for both teams as the Hornets are currently 1-11 overall.
Tip off is 7:30 p.m. in Montgomery.
-Women’s basketball: The Devilettes had four players with double digit points in Tuesday’s game against South Alabama in Mobile, but the Jaguars were able to maintain a small lead to creep past the Devilettes with a 68-60 win.
Coming off their second win of the season last Wednesday, a 67-63 victory over the University of New Orleans, the Devilettes started Tuesday’s game off strong. They kept the scoring even in the first quarter, 17-17, and were only down 39-33 at halftime. The Devilettes took a 52-49 deficit to the fourth, where the Jaguars, 4-7 overall, outscored them 16-11 in the last quarter.
Anjanae Mueck was the leading scorer for Valley with 15 points, nine rebounds and five blocks. Kerrigan Johnson had 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals, and Milia Gibson had 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. Elisa Saffold also had a contribution of 11 points and two assists.
The Devilettes fall to 2-8 overall and will face a tough Texas Tech team, 10-1 overall, Tuesday in Lubbock for their next game before starting SWAC play on Jan. 2 against Alabama State, 3-8 overall, in Montgomery.
-Contact Jared Conerly at 662-581-7237 or jconerly@gwcommonwealth.com.
