Preview: Florida A&M Lady Rattlers vs. Alabama A&M Bulldogs in SWAC Championship

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (Interstat) — The Alabama A&M Bulldogs, the clear favorite, will face a familiar and recently surging opponent when they meet the Florida A&M Lady Rattlers for the Southwestern Athletic Conference women’s basketball championship on Wednesday.

The top-seeded Bulldogs (20-9) enter the title game at College Park’s Gateway Center Arena having won nine of their last 10 games, including a dominant 57-37 victory at Florida A&M on Feb. 19. Alabama A&M also won the prior meeting this season, 63-50 at home on Jan. 31.

Second-seeded Florida A&M (9-21) carries momentum from winning its last two games, including a 55-52 victory over Bethune-Cookman in the tournament semifinals on Tuesday. The Lady Rattlers’ late-season push followed a stretch where they lost 10 of 11 games.

A key matchup will feature Alabama A&M’s Jaida Belton against Florida A&M’s Tahnyjia Purifoy. Belton, a consistent scoring threat, averaged 13.2 points over the final six regular-season games. She scored 17 points in the Bulldogs’ semifinal win over Southern on March 5.

Purifoy has been the engine for the Lady Rattlers, logging heavy minutes as a primary facilitator. In the last six games, she averaged 8.7 points and 6.7 assists per contest. In Tuesday’s semifinal, she posted 9 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in 38 minutes.

Florida A&M’s semifinal win was also powered by Breazia Robinson’s 8 points, 8 rebounds and 8 blocks, and a 13-point effort from Miya Giles-Jones.

Alabama A&M’s defense, which held opponents under 55 points in seven of its last 10 wins, will be tested by a Florida A&M team playing with renewed confidence. The Bulldogs have not lost since Feb. 7.

The winner will earn the SWAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament.