HOUSTON (Interstat) — The Alcorn State Lady Braves used a dominant first quarter to secure a 68-54 victory over the Texas Southern Lady Tigers in a Southwestern Athletic Conference women’s basketball game Thursday night at Health & P.E. Arena.

Alcorn State established control early, outscoring Texas Southern 24-9 in the opening period and never relinquished the lead. The Lady Braves improved to 14-11 overall, while Texas Southern fell to 9-19.

Arene Iyekekpolor led all scorers with 21 points for Alcorn State, scoring efficiently in just 19 minutes of play. Nakia Cheatham added 12 points for the Lady Braves. Taliyah Logwood paced Texas Southern with 21 points in the loss.

An announced crowd of 803 watched as Alcorn State completed a regular-season sweep of the Lady Tigers, having also won the previous meeting on Jan. 17.