Both Baton Rouge women’s basketball programs will compete in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64 this weekend.
A back-and-forth battle between Southern (20-13) and Samford (16-19) was tied once again Thursday, for the eighth time overall, with less than seven minutes remaining in the teams’ First Four matchup.
But the Lady Jaguars held the Lady Bulldogs scoreless for the next four and a half minutes and began rolling their way to eight straight points, a 14-2 closing run and the program’s second tournament win in as many years, 65-53.
Southern advances to face No. 1 South Carolina (31-3) at noon Saturday in Columbia, S.C.
The Lady Jaguars had never previously reached back-to-back NCAA Tournament, going 0-6 with trips in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2019 and 2023.
Now, not only have they participated in consecutive years, but also notched their first two wins.
Southern’s defense was a difference-maker with 13 steals, five blocked shots and 19 Samford turnovers overall helping fuel a 20-4 advantage in resulting scoring, including 12-3 on fast-breaks.
And the Lady Jaguars came up huge on that end with the game on the line, holding Samford to 1-for-9 shooting and five turnovers in the final minutes.
Graduate student Jaylia Reed, who finished with a game-high 16 points, meanwhile kicked off the scoring in the decisive run with five quick points on a 3-pointer, then a driving layup the next possession.
The Lady Bulldogs would never cut the margin any closer again.
Junior guard Mykayla Cunningham snatched steal a few seconds later and pushed the ball up ahead for an eventual Jocelyn Tate layup.
After a couple traded stops, junior guard Jestiny Dixon split a pair of free throws to stretch the lead to 59-51, Southern’s largest of the game at that point.
The Lady Bulldogs finally broke into the run with a long jumper by sophomore guard Briana Rivera with 2:17 to play.
But sophomore forward DeMya Porter answered immediately on the other end, and the Lady Jaguars shut Samford down the rest of the way and made four of their six late free throws to ice away the victory.
Reed paced the scoring with her 16 points on 6-for-10 (60%) shooting, including 3-for-7 (42.9%) from deep, and two rebounds and two steals.
And Porter had a double-double with 15 points, a game-high 12 rebounds and a blocked shot.
Tate, the sophomore guard, joined them in double-figures with 10 points off the bench, plus seven rebounds and a blocked shot.
Cunningham finished with six points, a game-high eight assists, five rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal.
Senior guard D’Shantae Edwards added eight points, including clutch 4-for-5 foul shooting, and five steals, three assists and two rebounds.
