BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alcorn State and Jackson State will renew their women’s basketball rivalry on Saturday for the biggest prize of all — a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Tyginae White’s jumper from the top of the key with two seconds remaining capped a wild fourth quarter, and No. 6 seed Alcorn State continued a Cinderella run at the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday by upsetting Grambling 61-59 in the semifinals.

The Lady Braves trailed Grambling (22-9) by seven points with 7:32 remaining. Destiny Brown scored seven consecutive points to tie it and ignite a 15-0 run that put Alcorn ahead 57-49 with 2:06 to go.

Grambling came back to tie it at 59 on a 3-pointer by Kahia Warmsley with 22 seconds left, before Wright’s shot from just inside the 3-point line splashed through the net.

Grambling had one more chance, but Jordyn Carter’s half-court heave at the buzzer glanced off the rim.
Brown finished with 19 points and seven rebounds for Alcorn. Zy’niya White had 12 points and seven rebounds, and Nakia Cheatham had 11 points and eight rebounds.

BIG BAD BRAVES WITH THE UPSET!!!

With 12 seconds left in the game, Tyginae Wright hits the game winner!!

Alcorn State will play the winner of No. 5 Arkansas-Pine Bluff and No. 1 Jackson State in the 2024 @starrylemonlime SWAC Women’s Championship presented by @Buick tomorrow… pic.twitter.com/6kiPPMXrLQ

— Southwestern Athletic Conference (@theswac) March 15, 2024

The prize for Alcorn State (12-19) is a date in the championship game with No. 1 seed Jackson State, which dismantled Arkansas-Pine Bluff 70-48 on the other side of the bracket.

Jackson State (25-6) won both meetings with Alcorn this season, and increased its winning streak to 20 games overall. The Tigers won the SWAC title in 2021 and 2022 and are going for their third trip to the NCAA Tournament in four years.

Alcorn and Jackson State will play in the championship game Saturday at 4:30 p.m., with the winner earning the SWAC’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

Ti’lan Boler and Adriana Avent scored 19 points each against UAPB (17-16), while Angel Jackson had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

The Tigers held UAPB to 25 percent shooting in the first half to open a 38-20 lead and were not threatened in the second half.