ITTA BENA, Miss. – The Devilettes of Mississippi Valley State University grabbed a crucial point on the Southwestern Athletic Conference table Friday by drawing 1-1 with visiting Texas Southern.
 
Rhonique Alexander leveled the score in the 38th minute when she redirected a pass from Laadi Issaka that was misplayed the TSU goalkeeper. Alexander's strike was her second of the season.
 
The Lady Tigers enjoyed the lead for roughly a half-hour. Briana Norwood claimed her first goal of the season by heading in a corner kick from Begoña Rodriguez-Bravo in the seventh minute.
 
Friday's draw was much more welcome by the Devilettes, who pulled into a tie for ninth place on the SWAC table with Jackson State. Both teams are only two points behind Southern for the eighth and final playoff berth into the conference tournament.
 
Meanwhile, the final tally proved to be disappointing for the Lady Tigers, who outshot Mississippi Valley State 26-5 in the match. The ball was on Valley's side of the field for most of the match, with TSU enjoying an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks. Texas Southern was also called offside nine times in the match, compared to just once for the Devilettes.
 
MVSU's freshman goalkeeper McKenzie McCarthy stretched her undefeated streak to three matches with the draw. She stopped 11 of the 12 shots on goal she faced. Her TSU counterpart Alexis Robles made two saves in the match.
 
Though they didn't register a shot during the second half and first overtime, the Devilettes came close to ending the match four minutes into the second overtime. Issaka broke free from all but one defender and was able to fire a hard strike from 12 yards out, but it was just wide of the far post.
 
The Devilettes return to action Sunday when they host Prairie View A&M. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.