BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The third time wasn't a charm for the Devilettes of Mississippi Valley State.
After being swept during the regular season by instate rival Jackson State, the MVSU women failed to reverse that trend in the postseason. JSU eliminated Valley from the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament with a 69-62 double overtime victory over the Devilettes here Friday at the State Fair Arena.
The Devilettes close out the season at 14-16.
The Valley women, seeded sixth in the eight-team tournament, pulled a first-round upset on Thursday with a 67-61 win over third-seeded Alabama A&M, which had also beaten them in both regular-season meetings.
The Devilettes missed out on a chance for a Cinderella story, but they did put quite a scare in the No. 2 seed Lady Tigers. They scored the first four points in the second overtime for a 62-58 advantage with 21/2 minutes to play, but three straight turnovers allowed JSU to reel off eight consecutive points for a 66-62 lead.
After buckets by Shakira Arnold and Amanda Hammond to open the second five-minute extra period, the Devilettes never scored again.
Valley senior Portia Wilson scored the final four points in regulation, to force the first overtime.
Wilson led her team in scoring and rebounding with 15 points and 13 rebounds. She was 7-of-10 from the foul line.
Latoia Mackey added 11 points, while Michelle Messega and Hammond finished with 10 points each.
Carena Easley paced JSU with 23 points, and Erica Trahan added 20 and 13 rebounds.
"What a great ball game. The momentum was flipping back and forth," MVSU coach Nate Kilbert said. "I am extremely proud of this team."
