HEMPSTEAD, Texas (Interstat) — Arkansas-Pine Bluff held off Prairie View 53-49 in a women’s NCAA Division I basketball game Thursday at William Nicks Building. The Lady Golden Lions improved to 4-9 overall, while the Lady Panthers fell to 2-12. Jailah Pelly led Arkansas-Pine Bluff with 17 points. Prairie View’s Alana Shields scored a game-high 18 points. The visiting Lady Golden Lions built a 29-28 halftime lead and maintained a narrow advantage through a low-scoring second half. Arkansas-Pine Bluff dominated inside, scoring 30 points in the paint to Prairie View’s 10, and secured 15 offensive rebounds. Both teams struggled offensively, with Arkansas-Pine Bluff shooting 29.9% from the field and Prairie View shooting 31.9%. Attendance was 136.

HEMPSTEAD, Texas (Interstat) — In a game defined more by grit than grace, the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Lady Golden Lions snapped a three-game losing streak and secured their first Southwestern Athletic Conference victory of the season, holding off the Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers 53-49 on Thursday night at the William Nicks Building. The contest, witnessed by 136 fans, was a defensive struggle from the opening tip. Both teams combined to shoot under 30% from the field, with Arkansas-Pine Bluff converting 20 of 67 attempts and Prairie View managing just 15 makes on 47 shots. The Lady Golden Lions’ persistence on the offensive glass, where they secured 15 rebounds, proved to be a decisive factor, generating critical second-chance opportunities that offset their own scoring inefficiencies. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (4-9, 1-2 SWAC) established a narrow lead early and never fully relinquished it, despite repeated challenges from the home team. The Lady Golden Lions led 15-14 after a disjointed first quarter and took a 29-28 advantage into halftime. They extended their margin slightly in the third quarter, outscoring Prairie View 16-11 to carry a 45-39 lead into the final period. The most crucial sequence of the game unfolded in the tense final minute. With Arkansas-Pine Bluff clinging to a 51-49 lead, Prairie View’s Alana Shields missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with just two seconds remaining. Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s Jailah Pelly secured the defensive rebound, was fouled, and calmly sank two free throws with 0.2 seconds left to seal the four-point victory. That final defensive stand capped a game where neither team led by more than eight points. Pelly, a 5-foot-9 guard from St. Louis, Missouri, led all scorers with 17 points and added 5 rebounds and a steal in 37 minutes. She was instrumental in the Lady Golden Lions’ interior attack, which produced a dominant 30 points in the paint compared to just 10 for Prairie View. Tyra Taylor, a 5-foot-11 forward from West Memphis, Arkansas, provided a massive spark off the bench, matching Pelly’s 17 points on efficient 7-of-12 shooting from inside the arc, along with 7 rebounds. Indiya Bowen, a 5-foot-9 guard from Horn Lake, Mississippi, contributed 14 points and a game-high 4 steals in 39 minutes. Prairie View (2-12, 0-3) was led by Shields, a 5-foot guard from Chicago, Illinois, who scored 18 points. Margan Allen of Houston, Texas, added 14 points in a full 40 minutes of action. The Lady Panthers’ defense was active, forcing 15 turnovers and blocking 4 shots, with 6-foot-6 center Ja’nya Polk from Oneonta, Alabama, recording two of those blocks. However, Prairie View’s own offensive struggles, including a 12-for-22 performance from the free-throw line and 12 turnovers, prevented them from capitalizing on Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s mistakes. The game’s statistical profile highlighted the defensive intensity. Arkansas-Pine Bluff finished with an offensive rating of 71.5 points per 100 possessions, while Prairie View posted a slightly more efficient but still low 77.2. Both teams struggled profoundly from beyond the arc; the Lady Golden Lions hit only 4 of 26 attempts, and the Lady Panthers made 7 of 24. The victory provides a measure of momentum for Arkansas-Pine Bluff as they continue a tough SWAC schedule. The Lady Golden Lions travel to face Texas Southern on Saturday. Prairie View, still searching for its first conference win, will look to rebound at home against Mississippi Valley State, also on Saturday.

Preview: Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Prairie View in SWAC Women’s Basketball PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (Interstat) — Two teams seeking a spark to turn around difficult seasons will meet Thursday night when the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Lady Golden Lions visit the Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers in a Southwestern Athletic Conference women’s basketball game. Both squads enter on extended losing streaks. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3-9, 0-2 SWAC) has dropped four consecutive games, most recently a 72-49 home loss to Alabama A&M on Saturday. Prairie View (2-11, 0-2) has lost five straight, including an 85-60 defeat at Grambling on Saturday. The matchup features two of the conference’s top individual scorers. Arkansas-Pine Bluff will lean on guard Indiya Bowen, who is averaging 16 points per game over her last four contests. She scored 29 points in an overtime loss to Alabama State on Jan. 1. For Prairie View, forward CJ Wilson has been a consistent presence, posting a double-double of 15 points and six rebounds against Grambling and averaging 11.6 points and 6.2 rebounds over her last five games. The Lady Panthers’ offense will also look to Crystal Schultz, who erupted for 25 points in the loss to Grambling. The Lady Golden Lions have relied on a committee approach behind Bowen, with Jailah Pelly and Jayla Cornelius each adding 10 points in the Alabama A&M game. Neither team has found much momentum this season against a challenging slate of non-conference opponents. Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s three wins came against North Alabama, Arkansas Baptist and Louisiana-Monroe. Prairie View’s two victories were against Huston-Tillotson and Texas College. Defensive struggles have been a common theme. The Lady Golden Lions have allowed 80.5 points per game during their four-game skid, while the Lady Panthers have surrendered an average of 81.2 points in their five consecutive losses. Thursday’s contest represents a critical early-SWAC opportunity for both programs to halt their slides and build confidence before the conference schedule deepens. The game is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. CST tipoff at the William J. Nicks Building.