ITTA BENA, Miss. (March 02, 2019) -- Mississippi Valley State women's basketball team (4-23,3-13 SWAC) fell at home in overtime, 87-86 to the Lady Tigers of Jackson State Saturday afternoon in the Harrison HPER Complex. The Devilettes had three players score in double-figures behind senior Erin Smith's season-high 25 points on 5-of-7 made three-pointers and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
 
On the night, MVSU shot 28-of-70 (40 percent) from the field, 9-of-25 (36 percent) from beyond the arc, and 21-of-30 (70 percent) from the free throw line. Smith led the scoring efforts with 25 points and seven rebounds followed by senior Kristy Parker with 16 points and freshman Sydnie Ward with 13 points. Senior LaKendra Bassett led the rebounding efforts and was just shy of a double-double with eight rebounds and nine points.
 
After leading for most of the game, the Devilettes allowed the Lady Tigers to battle back by the fourth period. By the 7:43 mark MVSU trailed for the first time since the first two minutes of the game (62-61). With under three minutes left, a steal by Bassett and an and-one by Parker gave the Devilettes a boost of momentum. Ward was sent to the line with 48 seconds left in the fourth period and drained both free throws giving the Devilettes a 71-69 lead.
 
JSU responded and tied the game again at 71, but with 10.5 seconds left in regulation the Devilettes had a chance to take the lead and potentially down their in-state rival. But a missed opportunity by MVSU sent the game into overtime tied at 73.
 
In overtime, neither team could score until JSU's Christina Ellis went coast-to-coast for a layup at 3:12 mark. Then a made three-pointer by Kaisah Lucky with under a minute left changed the tide of the game as JSU took an 83-78 advantage. The Devilettes continued to fight and Bassett drew the and-one to pull MVSU within two. Steals were the highlight of overtime for the Devilettes, and it was a steal by Mosley that pulled them within two. In the final seconds, Ward drained a three-pointer, but it was not enough to lift the Devilettes over the Lady Tigers.
 
The first quarter was personal for the Devilettes. Jackson State got on the board first, but the Devilettes went on 9-0 run to put them up 11-3. Smith sparked the offense after a made three-pointer and a steal then followed that with two more three-pointers giving Valley an 11-point lead at the 5:29 mark. The Devilettes ended the quarter with a 23-19 lead shooting 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.
 
Christina Ellis led JSU with 36 points.
 
MVSU returns to action on Monday, March 4 hosting Grambling State at 5:30 p.m. in the Harrison HPER Complex.
 
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Ashley Walker-Johnson
Opening Statement…
"I'm still at a loss for words… But what I will start off saying is my team shown up today. That's probably the most frustrating part. We have not played well in about four or five games. And, it feels good, because my team did not give up after a horrible weekend in Houston. And, I told them that's what I'm most proud of. That's my team out there. It's aggravating because we haven't performed like this. But, I thank them, because they're still here for the fight. The turnout is what it was. We lost. I'm not happy about that. But, to see my kids play the way they know how to play, and the way they've been playing. I'm extremely happy about that, because we haven't had the best three or four games.

On getting off to a good start in the game, and Erin Smith's play…
"Erin just has to do that… If you guys pay attention, we go to her the first set every single game. She's got to shoot the ball well. That opens the floor for everyone else. That takes attention off my guards, because she is knocking them down, so she's got someone in her face. That allows Nyla and Jazmine to do what they do as well as my other guards to get to the rack. So, I mean, she's just got to knock shots down. They (JSU) do that extremely well. That is kind of what they do off of tip. Any time they win it, that's what they do. I hate that we were not able to win tips like that, because I most definitely have something like that in place. But someone's got to score early. But we were able to just kind of settle down and do what we do best. For most of the game, we did that. I talk about 40 minutes. Not 35 minutes, not 34 minutes, not 39 minutes, but 40 minutes. 30 seconds each possession. Ours and theirs. That's how you be successful. Winning each quarter. We only won 2 quarters, and we tied 1…"
 
Senior Guard Erin Smith
On the incredible game she played…
"I give credit to my teammates for really getting me the ball. Like coach said, I really have to knock down shots, because she goes to me the majority of the time when we start, so if I can knock down the first shot, I'm pretty sure I can knock down the rest of them…"
 
Senior Guard Kristi Parker
On having such a great second half…
I just settled down and let the game come to me… I didn't rush anything. I just tried to play defense, and tried to play offense. I tried to get steals and rebounds… Anything I could do just to stay in the game…"