GRAMBLING - A scoring run late in the first half sparked the Grambling State Lady Tigers to a victory over Southwestern Athletic Conference foe Texas Southern 76-58 Monday night at Memorial Gymnasium.
The victory keeps the Lady Tigers (8-6, 5-1) in second place in the SWAC, while Texas Southern (5-8, 0-4) remained winless in league play.
After taking the early lead, Texas Southern, coached by former GSU men's coach Lacey Reynolds, saw it slip away as Grambling made its move to get back into the contest on runs of 9-2 and 19-6 to take a 39-26 halftime lead.
Chovanique Kibble was instrumental in the Lady Tigers' comeback as she scored six points in the 9-2 run to give the Lady Tigers their first lead on her layup at 5:54 left. The Lady Tigers never trailed again.
Kibble finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
GSU coach Randy Ponton said his team wasn't playing with intensity in the opening minutes of the game.
"We started out a bit sluggish and we got down, wasn't playing intensified basketball," Ponton said. "That's the only way we know how to play, so we called a timeout and played a great game."
GSU took advantage of some thievery as it compiled 24 steals on the night, nine from Shrieka Evans, six from Kibble and four by Lucy Mark.
Evans scored 16 points, including four 3-pointers, while LaKandra Davis poured in 21 points and 10 rebounds to complete the double-double. She scored 17 of her points in the second half. Davis was injured in the first half with a busted lip and had to be treated by a trainer.
"When I came back in, we were losing. Our play wasn't going well. But the second half was better," Davis said.
Reynolds' homecoming was bittersweet. Reynolds took over as head coach of Grambling's men basketball program in 1995, posting the Tigers' first winning season in a decade. He was there for four years before going to TSU.
"We played in spots. We got down, but we never threw in the towel," Reynolds said. "When you play a good school like Grambling, they pressured us in some situations, and I think that the most important thing we turned the ball over at crucial times and young people will do that."
Grambling's defense turned the pressure up in the second half, scoring 19 points off of 21 Texas Southern's turnovers.
Kim Davis scored 14 points and Crystal Robinson had 13 for TSU.
The Lady Tigers return to action, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, January 19 against Mississippi Valley State in H&PE Arena on the TSU Campus.
