Going into the Southwestern Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament, Southern coach Carlos Funchess knew his team would have to guard against a letdown if it upset top-seeded Jackson State.
It’s a problem Funchess welcomes after the fourth-seeded Jaguars defeated the Tigers 65-64 in semifinal action Friday at Bartow Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.
Southern trailed 61-56 with one minute left, but the Jaguars made three 3-pointers in the final 13 seconds to pull out the win. Genovea Johnson made the first one, then Aleighyah Fontenot hit the last two, including the game-winner as time ran out.
Fontenot’s first three pulled Southern to within 63-62 with 10 seconds left. After Jackson State’s Daja Woodard made 1 of 2 free throws with six seconds left, Chloe Fleming inbounded to Fontenot, who’s running 3-pointer from the top of the key hit the back of the rim, bounced high in the air and fell through the net.
Less than one second remained, and Jackson State didn’t get off another shot.
“I saw nobody was in front of me, so I stopped and I shot it hoping it would go in,” Fontenot said. “I knew it would go in. I was just trying to get us the win.”
The win means Southern (17-14) will play No. 7 seed Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the championship game at 1 p.m. with the SWAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line. Jackson State (21-9), which pushed LSU in a first-round tournament loss last season, will have to settle for a berth to the WNIT as the regular-season SWAC champion.
For the game, Southern shot 36.7%, but made 10 of 18 3-point shots. Johnson topped Southern with 20 points while Amani McWain had 15. Fontenot made 3 of 4 from 3-point range for her nine points.
The Jaguars led 49-48 after three quarters. In the fourth, Jackson State began looking for 6-foot-5 center Daphane White, who scored seven of her 15 points in the final quarter. Jackson State’s Ti’lan Boler added 18 points.
In the first half, Southern had zero turnovers as it kept up with Jackson State from the start. As the teams traded baskets, there were six ties and 12 lead changes.
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