ITTA BENA, Miss. -- Mississippi Valley State had a strong first half performance Saturday against Alabama A&M, but the Lady Bulldogs overpowered the Devilettes in the second half to secure a 63-58 win at the Leflore County Civic Center. 

In its SWAC home opener, Ashley Beals led MVSU with a career-high 23 points -- including 16 in the first half -- while Christina Reed added 16 points and a team-high four assists before fouling out late in the game. A'Shanti Weathers chipped in 12 points for the Devilettes, who dropped to 2-11 (0-2 SWAC). 

"Overall, I think we're pusing in the right direction," said MVSU head coach Elvis Robinson. "We just need to get more production from more people."

A connection between Reed and Beals in the first half helped provide Valley with a comfortable 34-26 lead at halftime. Beals made 6-of-7 shots in the first half while Reed went into intermission with eight points and three steals. 

The Lady Bulldogs, however, snatched the momentum in the second half thanks mostly to Janie Myles, who had 16 of her 24 points in the final 20 minutes. 

Myles scored the first six points on the second half before Reed ended the Lady Bulldogs' run with a jumper to extend Valley's lead to 36-32. 

The Devilettes held on to the lead until the 7:49 mark when Taylor Sippial made one of her two three-pointers on the day. 

MVSU led again by as much as five points with under four minutes left. But from that point, the Lady Bulldogs concluded the game on a 14-4 run. 

After shooting 58 percent in the first half, the Devilettes made 33 percent from the field in the second half. 

MVSU will be back at home Monday at 5:30 p.m. hosting Alabama State at the Leflore County Civic Center.