ITTA BENA, Miss. (January 14, 2019) – Mississippi Valley State women's basketball tied a season-best with eight made three-pointers downing Alabama State 64-62, in the Harrison HPER Complex Monday evening. The Devilettes finished with a trio of scorers in double-figures en route to their second Southwestern Athletic Conference victory of the season.

Senior Erin Smith led the Devilettes (3-11, 2-1) with 15 points coming off the bench hitting 3-of-7 three-pointers and a perfect 4-for-4 on free-throws. Senior LaKendra Bassett and senior Makayla Bonner also scored in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Bassett dished out a team-high five assists and grabbed five rebounds with three steals.

The Devilettes scored 21 points off forcing 27 Lady Hornet (3-12, 2-2) turnovers. MVSU made 16-of-25 free-throws which proved to be the difference down the stretch in a tightly contested game by both squads.

MVSU went on a 9-2 run opening the third period breaking out to a 37-28 advantage. Smith scored seven points in the quarter helping the Devilettes stay in front. Trailing the Devilettes 49-45 at the beginning of the fourth period, the Lady Hornets brought the deficit to 50-48 at the 7:22 mark. From there the intensity increased with MVSU responding with an 8-0 run of their own. Bassett grabbed a rebound and went coast-to-coast extending the Devilettes lead to five, 53-48 with six minutes left in regulation. Smith came back and hit a three-pointer continuing the MVSU run followed by a pair of made free-throws by senior Kristy Parker.

ASU got to within a 62-60 margin after a three-pointer by Tyeisha Rudolph and a layup by Shmya Ward with 1:41 to go. Searching for an answer to stop the Lady Hornets run, MVSU's Parker found Bonner for a layup against the aggressive ASU defense making it a 64-60 advantage with 1:21 on the clock. MVSU played solid in the final minute with the Lady Hornets missing a pair of layups and held on for a 64-62 win.

Jayla Crawford led ASU with 19 points while Ward finished with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Up next for the Devilettes is a road trip to Alcorn State on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 3:00 p.m.