ATLANTA – Bethune-Cookman Women's Basketball enters the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Tournament as the No. 7 seed, with the Wildcats opening their tournament run versus No. 10 seed Prairie View A&M on Tuesday, March 11, at 11 a.m., inside Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. All games for the 2025 Starry SWAC Basketball Tournament presented by Buick are streaming live on ESPN+.
 

What: Game Thirty-One
Who: No. 7 Bethune-Cookman (10-20) vs. No. 10 Prairie View A&M (9-18)
When: Tuesday, March 11, at 11 a.m.
Where: Atlanta, Ga. – Gateway Center Arena (3,500)
 
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: CatEye Network
Live Stats: Click Here
Attend: Online Ticket Sales
 
IN THE RANKINGS
▪ Bethune-Cookman is not ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25
▪ Prairie View A&M is not ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25
 


▪ Asianae Nicholson was named to the All-SWAC Second Team after leading the league in total rebounds and rebounds per game. She is also seventh in the league in scoring with 381 points.
▪ Nicholson, a junior from South Euclid, Ohio, is second in Division I for double-doubles (21), having registered one in each of the Wildcats last 11 games, respectfully.
▪ After missing the SWAC Tournament a season ago, Head Coach Janell Crayton Del Rosario and the Cats fell in the opening round of the 2023 tournament to Alabama State, 70-61, in Birmingham, Alabama.
▪ Bethune-Cookman has turned in double-digit wins in each of the last three seasons under Crayton Del Rosario.
▪ The Wildcats come into the tournament averaging 60.7 points per game and shooting at a 37.5 percent clip from the field – added a 28 percent mark from three-point range.
▪ Senior center Kayla Clark has a team-leading 31 blocked shots, ranking her sixth in the SWAC. The Miami native is also ranked 15th in the league for steals (48).
▪ Despite missing several games with injury, freshman guard Jordan Brooks is in the top 20 of the league for assists with 58, followed by teammate and junior Daimoni Dorsey (59) in 20th of the league standings. Additionally, Clark is 21st in assists with 58 from her center position on the court.
▪ As a team, B-CU is third in the SWAC in defense, with opponents averaging just 62.5 points per game against the Wildcats.
 

RECAPPING B-CU'S LAST GAME (vs. Florida A&M)
Bethune-Cookman erased a double-digit second half deficit Saturday afternoon to defeat Florida A&M 71-60 in overtime inside Richard V. Moore Gymnasium.
 
Bethune-Cookman appeared to take control early, building a 4-0 lead when Asianae Nicholson followed Chanelle McDonald's opening basket with a layup at the 7:20 mark. The Wildcats stretched their advantage to 7-3 after McDonald connected on a pair of free throws with 6:02 remaining. FAMU responded with Sabou Gueye providing an immediate impact with two fast-break layups off steals, the second coming at the 5:30 mark to narrow the deficit to 7-5. Saige Glover then tied the game at 7-7 with a layup off an assist from Cheyenne McEvans with 4:25 left in the quarter. After Nicholson briefly restored the B-CU lead with a fast-break jumper, the Rattlers seized control with a decisive 9-0 run to close the quarter. Ivet Subirats hit a three-pointer to give FAMU their first lead at 11-9 with 2:33 remaining. ZiKeyah Carter added a pair of free throws after drawing a foul on Mya Johnson, and D'Mya Griffin punctuated the quarter with a three-pointer in the closing seconds to give the Rattlers a 16-9 advantage.
 
The host Wildcats outscored FAMU, 19-14 in the second quarter, cutting a daunting 11-point deficit to just two points by halftime. B-CU orchestrated the comeback behind senior guard Kayla White, who emerged with seven points including a perfect 1-for-1 from beyond the arc. Freshman guard Jordan Brooks provided additional firepower, contributing six points of her own, including a three-pointer and a perfect 3-for-3 performance from the free-throw line. The Rattlers quickly established their largest lead of the game at 22-11 when Griffin completed a three-point play at the 7:52 mark, pushing the FAMU advantage to its peak. The tide began to turn when Nicholson collected the rebound and converted a fast-break layup with 6:33 remaining. Moments later, White connected on a pull-up jumper off a Camerah Langston assist, trimming the deficit to nine points. A pivotal sequence occurred near the midpoint of as White converted consecutive fast-break opportunities, including a jumper that reduced the Rattlers' lead at 24-17 with 5:09 remaining.
 
FAMU's Eliya Ellis connected on a pair of free throws following a foul by McDonald, pushing the lead back to nine points at 26-17 with 4:45 left in the half. Gueye later extended the advantage to 11 points with a layup off a Jaliya Sharp assist. The Wildcats responded as White buried a three-pointer off a Brooks assist, cutting the lead to 28-20 with 3:40 remaining. The momentum continued to shift when Langston converted a jumper from outside the paint following a Johnson assist, reducing the deficit to six points with 3:13 left. FAMU's Sharp momentarily stemmed the tide with a put-back layup in the paint, but Brooks countered with a step-back three-pointer while drawing a foul on Cheyenne McEvans. The Atlanta, Georgia native completed the four-point play at the charity stripe, bringing Bethune-Cookman within four points at 30-26 with 1:33 remaining. The Wildcats' defensive intensity amplified in the closing minutes as Nicholson recorded a steal, and Brooks earned a trip to the free-throw line after being fouled by Sharp. Brooks would sink both attempts, shrinking the deficit to a mere two points at 30-28 with 53 seconds left.
 
The Rattlers set the tone early when Ivet Subirats drained a three-pointer just 43 seconds into the quarter. From there, FAMU extended their lead, going up by double digits when Glover's layup made it 43-33 with 4:01 remaining. Bethune-Cookman shot just 21.4 percent (3-for-14) from the field, including 0-for-3 from three-point territory. The Wildcats' offensive woes were highlighted by a three-minute scoring drought before White's driving layup cut the deficit to eight points with 2:11 left in the period. Nicholson paced the Cats with four points in the stanza. The Rattlers dominated the glass, outrebounding B-CU 16-7 in the quarter, including a 7-3 advantage on the offensive boards that led to five (5) second-chance points. FAMU maintained the lead throughout the entire quarter, pushing their advantage to as many as 10 points, 43-33. The Wildcats never managed to get closer than two points after Nicholson's jump shot made it 35-33 with 7:41 remaining.
 
In a dramatic fourth-quarter performance, the homestanding Wildcats erased a seven-point deficit to force overtime against Florida A&M at Moore Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. Trailing 45-38 early in the fourth quarter, the hosts mounted a comeback behind perfect three-point shooting (3-for-3) and clutch free throws to tie the game at 56-56 at the end of regulation. Clark played the hero for B-CU, scoring the game-tying layup with just 11 seconds remaining. The sequence began when Nicholson recorded a steal with seven seconds left after FAMU's Glover committed the turnover on the pass. Though Clark missed a potential game-winning jumper as time expired, her offensive production (six points, two rebounds, two assists in the quarter) proved instrumental in the comeback.
 
The Wildcats' rally began with back-to-back three-pointers from senior Shomari Phillips, who scored all six of her points in the final period. Phillips' second three-pointer at the 7:06 mark cut the deficit to just one point at 47-46. Florida A&M appeared to regain control when Gueye's driving layup and Glover's fast break score pushed the Rattlers' lead back to five points at 53-48 with 3:30 remaining. However, the Wildcats responded with a 6-0 run, capped by Clark's two free throws that gave Bethune-Cookman its first lead at 54-53 with 32 seconds left. The lead was short-lived as Griffin connected on a clutch three-pointer with 15 seconds remaining to put FAMU ahead 56-54. Clark then answered immediately with her driving layup to force overtime. White contributed significantly in the fourth quarter with five points and three rebounds, including a pivotal step-back three-pointer. The Wildcats' dominance on the glass proved decisive in the fourth quarter, outrebounding the Rattlers 11-4, including a 4-1 advantage on the offensive boards that led to four second-chance points.
 
Phillips led the overtime charge for the Wildcats, connecting on back-to-back three-pointers in the final two minutes that broke open what had been a tightly contested battle. Phillips finished the overtime period with six points on 2-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc. Just 25 seconds into overtime, B-CU's White converted a fast-break layup following Clark's steal from FAMU's Gueye, giving B-CU an early two-point advantage. The Wildcats' defense proved to be the difference-maker, holding Florida A&M to 9.1 percent shooting (1-of-11) in the overtime period. Nicholson extended the Wildcats' lead converting two free throws to put B-CU up 60-56 with 3:33 remaining. Clark followed with two more free throws nearly a minute later, pushing the advantage to six points. FAMU's McEvans briefly cut into the deficit by making the second of two free throws with just over two minutes remaining, but Phillips answered with a three-pointer to extend the lead to eight. The dagger came with 1:30 left when Phillips drained her second three-pointer off an assist from Clark, giving the Wildcats an 11-point lead at 68-57. Though McEvans responded with a three-pointer for FAMU, B-CU sealed the victory at the free-throw line, where the Cats shot an impressive 7-of-8 during overtime.
 

BCU VS. PRAIRIE VIEW A&M SERIES
▪ The series between Bethune-Cookman and Prairie View is tied at 3-3.
▪ PVAMU claimed a 65-60 win this season in Texas.
▪ The two teams have never met in the SWAC Tournament, or on a neutral court in series history.
▪ Prior to this season's loss, B-CU had won the previous two encounters, including a 74-61 decision last year in Daytona Beach.
 

SCOUTING PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
▪ Prairie View A&M owns the No. 10 seed entering the SWAC Tournament after posting a 9-18 overall record on the year, and a 6-12 mark in league play.
▪ The Panthers have lost their last two games coming into the week, those games coming away to Alcorn (L, 61-39) and at home to in-state foe Texas Southern (L, 64-60).
▪ Prairie View A&M is shooting 30.9 percent from three-point land, including a 39.6 percent clip from the field overall.
▪ Crystal Schultz is leading the Panthers in scoring with 252 points, averaging 9.3 points per game and shooting 35.5 percent from the floor.
▪ CJ Wilson (222 points) and Ash'a Thompson (210 points) also top 200 points scoring, with Thompson also gathering in 121 rebounds across the campaign.
▪ Thompson's 4.5 rebounds per game tops the Panthers in that category, followed by Adreanna Waddle with 94 boards (3.9 per game) and Nyam Thornton with 91 (3.4 per game).
▪ Thornton owns a team-leading 92 assists and 32 steals, adding 10 blocked shots to those figures as well.
▪ While Schultz leads the team in three-pointers with 51, teammate Kaci Chairs is second on the team with 26, followed by Mikayla Hutchingson with 20, respectively.
 


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