HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -Prairie View A&M’s 55-53 loss to Alabama A&M on Monday night was accompanied with a bit of controversy.
- Latia Williams of the Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers scans the defense. (Chris Jones)
After a defensive stop by the Lady Panthers with about one minute left in the game, freshman point guard Jeanette Jackson traveled after a dead ball inbounds play and committed a turnover. An inadvertent horn from the scorers table while the ball was in play confused her and others into thinking play had been stopped.
Trailing 52-51 and with the momentum seemingly on their side until that miscue, the Lady Panthers never recovered from that play and saw their final attempt at a last-second shot thwarted as the ball was poked away from behind out of the hands of Jackson on the game’s final possession as time expired.
“The refs dictated the game,” Prairie View A&M head coach Toyelle Wilson said. “We had to make the adjustment. We made some late plays at the end of the game, we just didn’t get that last rebound, and we had two turnovers in the last 45 seconds.”
Despite the close loss, the Lady Panthers received another solid performance by junior guard Latia Williams. She scored a team-high 20 points and added seven rebounds. Kiara Etienne fell one point below her season average with 13 points. She also had five rebounds and three steals in the loss.
On the other side of the ball, the Lady Panthers had a tough time containing the SWAC’s leading scorer Whiquitta Tobar, who finished with 20 points, 13 of which came in the second half. The Lady Panthers had the advantage in the first half.
