Southern women defeat Florida A&M despite lengthy

The Southern women’s basketball team made four free throws in the final 15 seconds as it held off Florida A&M 55-49 on Saturday afternoon at the F.G. Clark Activity Center.

The win got Southern back (5-9, 2-1) on track in the Southwestern Athletic Conference after a loss at Prairie View. Still, after losing most of a 14-point fourth-quarter lead, it left the Jaguars wanting more.

“It’s tough. It’s a win, but it kind of feels like a loss,” Southern coach Carlos Funchess said. “Coming down the stretch, the game shouldn’t have been that close. We helped (Florida A&M) with turnovers and just not making routine plays.”

Southern led 41-34 entering the fourth quarter and looked ready to put the game away. With 6:37 left to play, Genovea Johnson’s jumper gave Southern a 49-35 lead.

It was Southern’s last field goal of the game.

Florida A&M (2-11, 0-2 SWAC) took advantage of six Southern turnovers and six offensive rebounds to slice into the lead. Ahrianna Grizzle made one free throw with 55 seconds left to pull the Rattlers to within 50-47.

After another Southern turnover, Florida A&M had a chance to tie the game, but Dylan Horton’s 3-point try from the left corner was off the mark. From there, Southern worked the clock and the free-throw line.

Chloe Fleming and Johnson, who led Southern with 13 points, each made a pair of free throws in the closing seconds.

Horton finished with 16 points for Florida A&M. The Rattlers also got 11 points and 10 rebounds from Skylar Baltezegar as they outrebounded Southern 36-26.

“They ended up with 16 offensive rebounds. That’s an area we need to improve on,” Funchess said. “If we defensive rebound down the stretch, we probably put the game away halfway through the fourth quarter.”

Amani McWain was Southern’s top rebounder with six. The Jaguars got 27 points off the bench as 11 players scored.

Southern led by as many as 10 points in the second quarter. Diamond Hunter’s jumper gave the Jaguars a 26-16 lead.

Horton scored on a fast break and added a 3-pointer as Florida A&M trailed 26-21 at halftime.