LORMAN, Miss. – A huge weekend for Bethune-Cookman Women's Basketball is in store as Head Coach Janell Crayton and the Wildcats travel to the "Magnolia State" to face opponents from Alcorn State and Jackson State in a pivotal weekend of Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Women's Basketball hoops across the entire league.
 
Bethune-Cookman arrives to Lorman, Mississippi in a three-way tie for sixth place in the SWAC, sharing the position with Alabama A&M and Prairie View A&M, respectively. Just a half-game behind the Wildcats is Texas Southern, who defeated BCU at home in Daytona Beach last Monday.
 
What: Game Twenty-Five
Who: Bethune-Cookman (14-10, 5-6) at Alcorn State (5-17, 3-8)
When: Saturday, Feb. 17, at 2 p.m. ET
Where: Lorman, Miss. – Davey L. Whitney Complex (7,000)
 
Watch: Alcorn State Sports YouTube
Listen: Click Here
Attend: Online Ticket Sales
Live Stats: Click Here
 
What: Game Twenty-Six
Who: Bethune-Cookman at Jackson State (16-6, 11-0)
When: Monday, Feb. 19, at 6:30 p.m. ET
Where: Jackson, Miss. – Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center (8,000)
 
Watch: JSU Sports Network
Listen: Click Here
Attend: Online Ticket Sales
Live Stats: Click Here
 
IN THE RANKINGS
▪ Bethune-Cookman is not ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25
▪ Alcorn State is not ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25
▪ Jackson State is not ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with everything Bethune-Cookman Women's Basketball this season by following the Wildcats social media platforms. You can follow @BCU_WBB on Instagram and @BCUWBB on Twitter.
 
NEWS & NOTES
▪ As Bethune-Cookman holds a 14-10 overall record entering the weekend, the double-digit wins total is the most in a single season for the Wildcats since turning in a 23-6 mark in 2019-20.
▪ BCU has won just two of its last five games as the Cats arrive to Lorman, Mississippi, with several key members of the team missing up to four games recently with injury/illness. Last weekend, BCU was still without the services of one of the SWAC's most dynamic players in the form of Chanel Wilson.
▪ The Cats are averaging 69.1 points per game, while holding opponents to just 61.6 points per contest in return.
▪ BCU is still shooting at a decent percentage from the field, as the Maroon and Gold are connecting on 40.1 percent of its shots. The Cats are shooting 27 percent from beyond the arc, and a 65.6 percent touch from the foul line.
▪ The Cats are the second-most fouled team in the SWAC, entering the Alcorn game having shot a league second-highest 359 free throws (just one behind Jackson State – 360).
▪ BCU is part of a three-way tie for sixth place and trying to solidify a spot in next month's SWAC Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama.
▪ Chanelle McDonald is averaging a team second-best 10.3 points per game – in the absence of guard Chanel Wilson, and she's shooting at a 51.5 percent clip from the field. McDonald is also averaging 4.8 rebounds per game.
▪ Despite missing a total of seven games this season, center Kayla Clark is still averaging a 51.5 percent touch from the floor overall, while also having accumulated a team-high 17 blocked shots and 150 rebounds.
▪ A total of three different Cats have 30 or better steals, led at the top by Kayla White (53) and followed immediately by D'Shantae Edwards (52). Kerrighan Dunn (44) is third on the squad in that category.
▪ Bethune-Cookman is third in the SWAC with 344 assists (14.3 per game), using Chanel Wilson's 62 and Kerrighan Dunn's 59 to top the team in that department.
 
LAST TIME OUT
What began as a slow shooting start for both sides ended in heartbreak for Bethune-Cookman, as late-game free throws were the difference in a 65-64 loss to Texas Southern at Moore Gymnasium.
 
Bethune-Cookman forced six quick Texas Southern turnovers to start the contest, but a combined 3-11 start from the field for both squads saw BCU hold just an 8-6 advantage at the first media timeout. A Karianna Woods free throw gave BCU a 12-9 advantage as the first quarter concluded.
 
Kayla White broke nearly three scoreless minutes of play for BCU with a floater that made it 14-13, Wildcats midway through the second quarter. The offensively challenged first half came to a close as another Woods free throw took the Cats into the half up 24-22, with both teams combining for a 17-56 shooting clip. 

White gave the Wildcats a kickstart after the break with a three ball that made it 29-22, BCU, leading to a 9-2 BCU run. Kayla Clark's layup with three to play in the third gave the Wildcats a brief double-digit at 41-31, but Texas Southern quickly trimmed the deficit back down to five on a Alisa Knight three that made it 45-40. A 9-2 run for the Tigers put them down just one before O'Mariyah Tucker's corner three and a White steal and score pushed the Wildcat advantage back up to 52-46.

As the two teams reverted to their first-half offenses, Texas Southern's Nya Harmon drained both free throws to again make things a one-point game with just three minutes to play. A Tigers steal on the ensuing possession led to a three that gave Texas Southern the lead at 58-56 with 2:20 to play. D'Shantae Edwards tied things at 58-all with a contested hook shot following a BCU timeout. Another White steal and score made it 61-58, BCU. 

The Tigers kept the pressure on with a Jordyn Turner layup to make it 61-60. A missed BCU bucket at the other end gave Texas Southern a chance to go-ahead with 30 seconds remaining. Out of a timeout, Clark was whistled for a shooting foul, sending Turner to the line to give the Tigers a 62-61 lead with 28 seconds to play. 

At the other end, Woods layup attempted ended up in the hands of the Tigers. An Edwards steal went coast-to-coast to give BCU a 64-63 lead, but an off-ball whistle allowed Jaida Belton to win the game at the line for the Tigers.
 
BCU VS. ALCORN STATE SERIES
▪ Bethune-Cookman leads the all-time series against Alcorn State, 3-1.
▪ The Wildcats won the earlier meeting between the two sides this season 66-58 in Daytona Beach.
▪ BCU has won the last two meetings, respectfully.
▪ However, in Lorman, the Cats are just 1-1 all-time, with a 58-49 defeat last year to the Braves.
 
SCOUTING ALCORN STATE
▪ Alcorn State brings a 5-17 overall record into the weekend and holds a 3-8 mark in SWAC play. The Braves are tied for 10th in the league standings and sit just two games back of Bethune-Cookman, Alabama A&M and Prairie View A&M for a possible SWAC Tournament seeding.
▪ The Braves enter off the back of a 70-65 road win over Mississippi Valley State in their last contest.
▪ Prior to the MVSU victory, Alcorn had dropped six consecutive contests.
▪ Alcorn is shooting 35.8 percent from the field with an average of 52.6 points per game.
▪ The Braves are converting 10.9 free throws per contest, while opponents are hitting on 17 free throws per contest.
▪ Zy'nyia White leads the scoring for Alcorn with 12 points per game, followed closely by Destiny Brown with an average of 11 points per contest.
▪ Brown leads all players with a 48.9 percent shooting touch from the field.
▪ Meanwhile, Tyginae Wright is the team's top three-point specialist having converted 16 threes on the season.
▪ Brown and Nakia Cheatham pave the way on the board, as Brown averages 7.3 rebounds per contest, followed by Cheatham with 7.2 boards per contest.
 
BCU VS. JACKSON STATE SERIES
▪ Jackson State has owned the series against Bethune-Cookman since the two teams first met when BCU entered the SWAC during the course of the 2021-22 athletic year.
▪ JSU leads the series by a 5-0 margin.
▪ The Tigers won this season's previous meeting by an 81-65 mark in Daytona Beach.
▪ Bethune-Cookman dropped the first meeting by an 82-49 decision back on Jan. 22, 2022, in Daytona Beach.
▪ JSU collected both meetings last year – home and away, with the Cats falling by a 77-52 result at Moore Gymnasium.
 
SCOUTING JACKSON STATE
▪ Jackson State comes into the weekend's slate of games against Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M sporting an unblemished league record of 11-0. Dating back to a 97-52 loss at the hands of Texas on December 27, the Tigers have not lost in the 2024 calendar year.
▪ Jackson State enters the weekend 16-6 overall on the season.
▪ JSU is outscoring its opponents by 12.9 points per game, as the Tigers are pouring in 71.2 points per game as a team.
▪ The Tigers are shooting at a 40.1 percent clip from the field, as well as a 27.6 percent mark from three-point range.
▪ Jackson State also outrebounds opponents by 7.7 boards per game.
▪ Andriana Avent leads the way in scoring for the Tigers with 11.6 points per game, while it's Ti'lan Boler paving the way in total points with 240 (11.4 per game) to her credit.
▪ Miya Crump is just behind her teammates with 249 points and an average of 11.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest.
▪ Angel Jackson has a SWAC-leading 58 blocks under her belt.
▪ And it's teammate Keshuna Luckett supplying a team-high 83 assists across the season, leading the team by almost 50 in that department.
 
UP NEXT
Bethune-Cookman will host "Senior Appreciation Day" as Alabama A&M visits Richard V. Moore Gymnasium on Saturday, Feb. 24. Two days later, Alabama State arrives to Daytona Beach for the second leg of a two-game SWAC weekend against the Alabama schools, respectfully.
 
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