DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman Women's Basketball visits the two Alabama schools this week/weekend as the Wildcats jockey for position in next month's Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Tournament in Atlanta, Georgia. The Cats travel to Alabama State and Alabama A&M for a key pair of SWAC contests.
 

What: Game Twenty-Six
Who: Bethune-Cookman (8-17, 5-8) at Alabama State (6-19, 4-9)
When: Thursday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT)
Where: Montgomery, Ala. – Dunn-Oliver Acadome (7,400)
 
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What: Game Twenty-Seven
Who: Bethune-Cookman at Alabama A&M
When: Saturday, Feb. 22, at 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT)
Where: Huntsville, Ala. – AAMU Event Center (6,000)
 
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IN THE RANKINGS
▪ Bethune-Cookman is not ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25
▪ Alabama State is not ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25
▪ Alabama A&M 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 X/Twitter.
 

▪ Before defeating Alcorn 65-52 in the last contest, Bethune-Cookman had dropped three consecutive outings by a combined 18 points.
▪ Junior forward Asianae Nicholson has registered six consecutive double-doubles to lead the SWAC in that category.
▪ In all on the year, Nicholson, a native of South Euclid, Ohio, owns 22 double-doubles in 26 games played.
▪ Daimoni Dorsey, a junior guard from Baltimore, Maryland, leads the Cats by shooting 34.9 percent from three-point territory.
▪ Meanwhile, freshman Janessa Kelley leads the Cats with 35 shots made from long range, hitting at a 30.7 percent clip.
▪ Jordan Brooks tops the Cats with 52 assists, followed closely by Dorsey (49).
▪ With 23 blocked shots, senior center Kayla Clark needs just two more blocks for a season-high in that department wearing the Maroon and Gold.
▪ Dorsey also leads the Cats with 47 steals, allowing her to lead B-CU in three separate categories.
 

RECAPPING B-CU'S LAST GAME (vs. Alcorn State)
Bethune-Cookman women's basketball stopped a three-game losing streak with a 65-52 win over Alcorn State, Saturday afternoon at Moore Gymnasium.
 
The Cats started strong on both sides of the ball, moving in front 10-4 on a layup from Janessa Kelly through the first five minutes of the first.  Alcorn State battled back, as Nakia Cheathman's layup made it 12-10, but Asianae Nicholson found her way to the free throw line and Diamoni Dorsey sank a tough jumper to ride a six-point lead into the start of the second quarter.
 
B-CU'S lead reached a then-high of seven as Kelley drained a deep three ball to go up 21-14 midway through the second quarter. Another three for the freshman a minute later made it 24-16. The Cats' lead finally reached double figures at 26-16 as the run grew to 10-4 on a pair of Kayla Clark free throws. Alcorn State's Sharmayne Finley's jumper made it just a four-point B-CU lead with just over ten seconds until halftime, but Dorsey beat the buzzer for B-CU with a stop-and-pop jumper that sent B-CU to the locker room leading 28-22.
 
B-CU stalled a bit out of the half as Alcorn State's Finley downed a jumper to cut the deficit to four. The Wildcats kept pace as Kelley's fastbreak layup made it a double figure lead again at 38-28 five minutes into the second half. Two minutes of scoreless ball allowed the Braves to sneak back into the game, as they scored seven-straight to bring the B-CU lead down to 40-37. The Wildcats did not collapse, however, as another Dorsey buzzer-beater moved B-CU to the fourth with a 46-40 lead.
 
A Braves free throw and Cheathman jumper made it a 46-43 game to open the fourth - a Finley free throw a few minutes later made it just a one-point B-CU lead at 50-49. Unfortunately for the Braves, B-CU never did give up the lead, scoring nine straight. The Wildcats allowed just three more points to the Braves on the way out as they soared ahead, 65-52 to snap their three-game skid. 
 

BCU VS. ALABAMA STATE SERIES
▪ Alabama State leads the series against Bethune-Cookman by a 6-3 count.
▪ The Wildcats and Hornets split last year's meetings, with B-CU claiming an 84-43 win in Daytona Beach.
▪ The teams played a triple overtime game two seasons ago in Montgomery, Alabama, with the Hornets taking a 74-71 score line on Feb. 20, 2023.
▪ Since joining the league, B-CU is just 2-5 against the Hornets.
▪ The Cats claimed a win in the first game of the series by an 80-61 decision on Dec. 28, 2002, in Daytona Beach.

BCU VS. ALABAMA A&M SERIES
▪ Alabama A&M leads the all-time series against Bethune-Cookman, 7-3.
▪ Since B-CU joined the SWAC, the Bulldogs have won six of the seven meetings between the programs, respectfully.
▪ Earlier this season, Alabama A&M claimed a 66-49 decision in Daytona Beach.
▪ AAMU has won the last four meetings, consecutively.
▪ The last win for the Cats in the series came via a 55-46 win at home on Jan. 30, 2023.
▪ Bethune-Cookman won two meetings previously in the series back on Jan. 5, 2000, as well as Dec. 14, 2004 – both games occurring in Daytona Beach.
 

SCOUTING ALABAMA STATE
▪ Alabama State enters the game against B-CU with a record of 6-19 overall, and a 4-9 mark in league play.
▪ Before defeating Arkansas-Pine Bluff last weekend, the Hornets had lost their previous six contests consecutively.
▪ Opponents are outscoring Alabama State by 23.5 points per game.
▪ As a team, the Hornets shoot just 30.8 percent from the floor, as well as a 21.5 percent mark from beyond the arc.
▪ Cordasia Harris has led the Hornets in scoring virtually the entire season, averaging 11.4 points per game coming into the week.
▪ Harris also pulls down a team-leading 8.9 rebounds per game.
▪ Kaitlyn Bryant is shooting 32.3 percent from the floor, while also connecting on a team-high 21 three-pointers.
▪ Former Wildcat O'Mariyah Tucker is second on the ASAU squad with 11 blocked shots.
 
SCOUTING ALABAMA A&M
▪ Before playing Florida A&M on Thursday evening, Alabama A&M is 17-8 overall, and owns a 10-3 record in SWAC play.
▪ The Bulldogs have won six of their last seven games, with the lone loss being a 50-44 loss against Southern (La.) at home in Huntsville.
▪ Kalia Walker leads the Bulldogs with an average of 14.7 points per game, while shooting 38.1 percent from the field – including 35.8 percent from three-point territory. In all, she leads the Bulldogs in seven (7) different categories.
▪ Both Alisha Wilson (11.6 ppg) and Lauryn Pendleton (11.5 ppg) are second and third on the team in scoring.
▪ Wilson tops the team in rebounding with 246 (9.8 rpg), followed by Jaiyah Harris-Smith with 82 (3.3 rpg).
▪ The Dogs are averaging 64.9 points per game, while shooting 39.3 percent from the field as a unit.
▪ From the outside, AAMU is shooting 28.8 percent, including 28.2 percent from Mailyn Wilkerson who sits second on the team with 37 three-pointers.
▪ Harris-Smith is the orchestrator of the offense with a team-leading 93 assists on the season.
 

Bethune-Cookman returns home to host Grambling State inside Richard V. Moore Gymnasium on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m.
 
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