Destiny Brown And Nakia Cheatham Lead Alcorn State Back To The SWAC Championship Game

The Lady Braves' Destiny Brown and Nakia Cheatham have Alcorn State back to the SWAC Championship Game.

Ashlee Jones and Coach Nate Kilbert / ESPN

Alcorn State women's team will return to the SWAC Women's Basketball Championship game after defeating No. 2 Texas Southern, 65-55.

Destiny Brown, the SWAC Women's Defensive Player of the Year, was superb in the semifinal victory, recording 13 points, nine rebounds, and six blocks before exiting the game due to a head injury. Her presence in the paint created havoc for the TSU players.

Texas Southern's Alaysia Fantroy and the Braves' Destiny Brown reached for the basketball in the air, but both fell to the ground. Fantroy injured her ankle, while Brown hit her head on the court. Fortunately, both were able to walk off to the sidelines with assistance.

Destiny Brown Injured / ESPN

Could Alcorn handle either Jackson State or Southern with Brown patrolling the paint?

"We're real good, to be honest with you," Coach Nate Kilbert said in a postgame interview. "We're real good because, she gets us into a lot of things. People have to play a lot of attention to her. She makes the game easier for her teammates. I know she hit a head on that floor. I just hope she can come back tomorrow and be able to play, and be able to help us. Because these guys have come too far now to turn back now. So but she's huge for us."

Nakia Cheatham(13 points, 9 rebounds) / ESPN

Key contributors to the Lady Braves' victory over TSU included Nakia Cheatham (13 points, 9 rebounds), Kiarra Henderson (10 points, 2 rebounds), and Nakia Cheatham(10 points, 3 rebounds).

Forward Jaida Belton led the Lady Tigers with 16 points and nine rebounds. Alylasia Fantroy added 10 points and seven rebounds, and Deivejon Harris assisted with 10 points and seven rebounds in the loss.

Alcorn State awaits the Southern University vs. Jackson State winner to play for the 2025 Starry SWAC Women's Basketball Tournament Championship crown on Saturday, Mar. 15.

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MORE SWAC COVERAGE

ASU SHOCKS AAMU

Destiny Brown's 20-point and 13-rebound performance led the Alcorn State Braves (10-8) to a 56-53 victory over No. 3 Alabama A&M Bulldogs (15-4) in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Women's Basketball Tournament quarterfinals.

Brown went 9 of 16 from the field (2 of 5 from the free throw line) for the Braves. Jeanee Anderson scored 9 points, finishing 2 of 2 from 3-point range. Sharmayne Finley shot 3 of 8 from the field, including 2 of 8 from the floor, and 1 for 3 from 3-point range to finish with 7 points.

Alcorn Braves celebrate after their quarterfinal win against Alabama A&M.

The Braves are moving on. https://t.co/HLNUTWrr52 pic.twitter.com/Ql68L4sX6B

— Wilton C. Jackson II (@WiltonReports) March 13, 2025

Lauryn Pendleton led the Lady Bulldogs in scoring, finishing with 17 points, five rebounds, and three assists. AAMU star Alisha Wilson added 10 points and eight rebounds. Kaila Walker contributed 9 points, two rebounds, and an assist.

Alcorn State led 23-19 at halftime, with the Lady Braves having the largest lead of 7 points, 18-11, with 6:52 in the 2nd quarter. Alabama A&M claimed its largest lead, 49-47, in the final period before Alcorn State broke a tie at 49.

Zy'Nyia White made a jumper with 2:27 left in the game, giving ASU a 51-49 lead. The Lady Braves pulled away from the Lady Bulldogs for a quarterfinal upset, 56-53, handing Dawn Thornton's team a early checkout in Atlanta.

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Texas Southern Crushes Prairie View A&M By 20 Points At The SWAC Tournament Showdown

The 2025 Starry SWAC Women's Basketball Tournament quarterfinals game quickly became a "NO CONTEST" bout as No. 2 Texas Southern defeated No. 10 Prairie View A&M, 69-49, at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.

"We had to get warmed up," Coach Vernette Skeete said about her team's performance after halftime. "We had to get used to the goals we set, and we felt like it was even, it was time to turn up, finish our shots, and execute...we got the jitters out of us, and came alive in the second half."

All-SWAC guard Aylasia Fantroy had a double-double after leading all scorers with 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the victory. Courtlyn Loudermill posted 14 points, four rebounds, two assists, and a block. Guard Daeja Holmes contributed 12 points and hauled-in two defensive rebounds for the Lady Tigers.

"We got to stay disciplined, and it's going to be ours," TSU guard Daeja Holmes noted in her postgame interview.

Texas Southern took an 18-8 lead during the first quarter, but the Lady Panthers closed the gap to trail by eight points, 34-26, at halftime.

The Lady Tigers had 26 fastbreak points in the 3rd period to increase their advantage, 50-27, for 4:12 minutes.

Prairie View A&M attempted to make a couple of runs but did minor damage as Texas Southern would extend its lead to 69-45 in the final minutes. The Lady Tigers left the court victorious with a 20-point win, defeating PVAMU for a third time this season.

Nyam Thornton did not have her best outing but still led the Lady Panthers with 14 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Freshman center Amauri Williams left the game with five personal fouls after scoring just five points.

Texas Southern will have a day off to rest before entering the semifinal round on Friday, Mar. 14, against the No. 3 Alabama A&M and No. 8 Alcorn State contest winner.

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SWAC Women's Basketball Tournament: The Clash Between Prairie View vs. Texas Southern

HOUSTON - Wednesday morning's opening contest between No. 2 Texas Southern (15-14) and No. 10 Prairie View A&M (10-18) has all the makings of an epic showdown. The H-Town area HBCU basketball rivals will tip off at 11 AM ET at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.

SWAC Women's Brackets / Credit: SWAC

This game will be the third matchup of the season between Texas Southern and Prairie View A&M, both won by the Lady Tigers. On Feb. 1, TSU defeated PVAMU, 82-69, and again in the season finale on Mar. 8, 64-60. We witnessed in the final contest how Texas Southern overcame a 16-point deficit to rally and win by four points.

Expect a highly competitive and contentious clash between the crosstown rivals who have "Bad Blood" between one another. After the Lady Panthers pulled off the opening round upset against Bethune-Cookman, star player Nyam Thornton (16 points, 4 rebounds) said in a postgame interview about TSU, "They know what's coming." Shots fired!

Under third-year coach Vernette Skeete and her Flux Offense, the Lady Tigers rattled off 11 straight conference wins. That was before the injury bug hindered their progress in the later part of TSU's season.  

The major setbacks have been losing starting guard Aaliyah Henderson (in concussion protocol). In the last game, forward Treasure Thompson was out, and Daeja Holmes had a non-contact injury. Expect a heavy rotation with TSU pounding the paint with Deivejon Harris and Jaida Belton to complement the shooting of Courtlyn Loudermill and All-SWAC player Aylasia Fantroy.

Aylasia Fantroy - Texas Southern Guard - Sophomore / CREDIT: Kyle T.Mosley, HBCU LEGENDS

Against Florida A&M, Prairie View A&M center Amauri Williams was a force in the paint, scoring 12 points and grabbing three rebounds. However, watch the matchups with Nyam Thornton, CJ Wilson, and Ash'a Thompson, who are hoping to create havoc for TSU. In the finale, CJ Wilson led all scorers with a 20-point effort in the loss.

According to TSU Athletics, "Since the 2012-13 season, Texas Southern holds an 18-12 record against PVAMU." However, throw out the record books. Today's clash could have SWAC Tournament spectators applauding the rise of Coach Vernette Skeete or the mastery of the legend Coach Sandy Pugh.

The Last 10 Games

• Prairie View A&M's offense in the last 10 games is scoring 56.0 points per game.
• Texas Southern's offense in the previous 10 games scored 64.5 points per game.

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Women's Tournament Schedule (All times in EST)

March 12 - 11:00 AM: Game Three - No. 2 Texas Southern vs. Winner of Game One; 5:30 PM: Game Four - No. 1 Southern vs. Winner of Game Two

March 13 - 11:00 AM: Game Five - No. 3 Alabama A&M vs. No. 6 Alcorn State; 5:30 PM: Game Six - No. 4 Jackson State vs. No. 5 Grambling State

March 14 - 11:00 AM: Game Seven - Winner of Game Three vs. Winner of Game Five; 5:30 PM: Game Eight - Winner of Game Four vs. Winner of Game Six

March 15 - 5:30 PM: Championship - Winner of Game Eight vs. Winner of Game Seven

How To Watch

• All of the scheduled women's basketball games will broadcast on ESPN +

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SWAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL POSTSEASON HONORS

The Southwestern Athletic Conference announced its 2024-25 All-SWAC Women's Basketball teams and individual award winners. The all-conference honors were voted on by the league’s coaches and sports information directors. In order to be eligible for awards student-athletes must have participated in a minimum of 75 percent of their team’s games played this season.

Jackson State’s Taleah Dilworth was named Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year while Alcorn State’s Destiny Brown claimed Defensive Player of the Year accolades.

Prairie View A&M’s Crystal Schultz was selected as Freshman of the Year, and Southern’s Carlos Funchess was voted SWAC Coach of the Year.

In her first season at Jackson State, Dilworth led the conference in scoring most of the season registering a total of 475 points and averaging 16.4 points a game. She opened the 2024-25 campaign scoring her 1,000th career point on the road against Missouri. Dilworth has recorded 28 double-figure scoring games this season.

Brown was a key figure for the Alcorn State Lady Braves as she led her team in points per game (12.4 ppg) as well as block shots per game (1.8 bpg). She tallied 47 total blocks in 26 games played this season while leading the Braves to a 10-8 overall conference record.

Schultz had a phenomenal debut season for the Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers during the 2024-25 campaign. She averaged 9.3 points per game while scoring 169 total points.

Funchess led the Southern Jaguars to a spectacular season as SU claimed the 2024-25 SWAC Women's Basketball regular season title with a 15-3 conference record.

The complete listing of the SWAC all-conference women's basketball selections and individual awards winners are as follows:

SWAC Coach of the Year - Southern University's Carlos Funchess / Credit: SWAC

Coach of the Year

Carlos Funchess, Southern

Taleah Dilworth - Jackson State - 2024-25 SWAC Player and Newcomer of the Year / Credit: SWAC

Player of the Year

Taleah Dilworth, Jackson State

Destiny Brown - 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗖 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 / Credit: SWAC

Defensive Player of the Year

Destiny Brown, Alcorn State

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗖 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 - Taleah Dilworth / Credit: SWAC

Newcomer of the Year

Taleah Dilworth, Jackson State

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗖 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 🐈‍⬛ Crystal Schultz / Credit: SWAC

Freshman of the Year

Crystal Schultz, Prairie View A&M

Alaysia Fantroy - All-SWAC First Team / Credit: TSU Athletics

All-SWAC First Team

Taleah Dilworth, Jackson State

Alisha Wilson, Alabama A&M

Kaila Walker, Alabama A&M

Aylasia Fantroy, Texas Southern

Destiny Brown, Alcorn State

All-SWAC Second Team

Aniya Gourdine, Southern

Kahia Warmsley, Grambling State

Cordasia Harris, Alabama State

Asianae Nicholson, Bethune-Cookman

Cheyenne McEvans, Florida A&M

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SWAC Women's Basketball Brackets Has No. 1 Jaguars Ready For Epic Tourney Showdowns

The Southwestern Athletic Conference has announced its 2025 Starry SWAC Women’s Basketball Tournament presented by Buick seedings featuring the league’s top ten teams at the conclusion of regular season play.

2025 SWAC Women's Regular Season Champion Southern enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed (15-3 SWAC).

Texas Southern claimed the No. 2 seed (14-4 SWAC) while Alabama A&M claimed the No. 3 seed (14-4 SWAC) in the tournament followed by No. 4 seed Jackson State (13-5 SWAC).

Grambling State is the No. 5 seed (12-6 SWAC) followed by No. 6 seed Alcorn State (10-8 SWAC).

Bethune-Cookman (7-11 SWAC) and Florida A&M (6-12 SWAC) will enter the tournament as the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds respectively.

Mississippi Valley State (6-12 SWAC) and Prairie View A&M (6-12) claimed the final two tournament bids and will enter the tournament as the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds respectively.

In the event of a tie in conference records the league’s  was used to determine final seedings.

The 2025 Starry SWAC Women’s Basketball Tournament presented by Buick is scheduled to be played on March 11-15 at Gateway Center Arena located in Atlanta, Ga.

Texas Southern's Tenacious Defense Versus Prairie View A&M on Feb. 1, 2025 at H&PE Arena in Houston, TX / Credit: Kyle T. Mosley, HBCU Legends

SWAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT SEEDING

1. Southern: 15-3
2. Texas Southern: 14-4
3. Alabama A&M: 14-4
4. Jackson State: 13-5
5. Grambling State: 12-6
6. Alcorn State: 10-8
7. Bethune-Cookman: 7-11
8. Florida A&M: 7-11
9. Mississippi Valley State: 6-12
10. Prairie View A&M: 6-12

The upcoming tournament schedule of games is listed below.

SWAC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

March 11 11:00 am Game One: No. 7 Bethune-Cookman vs. No. 10 Prairie View A&M ESPN+

March 11 5:30 pm Game Two: No. 8 Florida A&M vs. No. 9 Mississippi Valley State ESPN+

March 12 11:00 am Game Three: No. 2 Texas Southern vs. Winner Game One ESPN+

March 12 5:30 pm Game Four: No. 1 Southern vs. Winner Game Two ESPN+

March 13 11:00 am Game Five: No. 3 Alabama A&M vs. No. 6 Alcorn State ESPN+

March 13 5:30 pm Game Six: No. 4 Jackson State vs. No. 5 Grambling State ESPN+

March 14 11:00 am Game Seven: Winner Game Three vs. Winner Game Five ESPN+

March 14 5:30 pm Game Eight: Winner Game Four vs. Winner Game Six ESPN+

March 15 5:30 pm Championship: Winner Game Eight vs. Winner Game Seven ESPN+

All times listed Eastern Standard Time (EST)

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