PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Junior guard Richelle Velez buried a three-pointer with three seconds left in overtime to power Texas Southern to a 59-58, come-from-behind victory over the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in Southwestern Athletic Conference play at the H.O. Clemmons Arena on Saturday night.
 

Velez hit six three-pointers and finished with 18 points for the Lady Tigers, who rallied after trailing 42-37 early in the fourth quarter. Junior forward Niya Mitchell had 14 points and 12 rebounds while junior center Isis Lane added 12 points and 9 rebounds. Senior guard Olivia Cunningham also had 12 points for Texas Southern (7-10, 3-3).
 

Junior guard Noe'll Taylor had 15 points and 5 rebounds for the Lady Lions (4-9, 1-5), which had won three of the previous four meetings between the two before coming up short in this one.  Junior forward Aiya El Hassan, who had the winning assist in UAPB's thrilling victory over Alcorn State earlier in the week, ended with eight points.  Senior center Shawntayla Harris chipped in with 8 points and 6 rebounds.
 

The Lady Lions were down 23-22 at halftime but fought back to take a 40-37 lead into the fourth quarter.  UAPB later trailed 56-51 in overtime but ran off seven consecutive points and grabbed a 58-56 lead on Taylor's basket with 40 seconds to go. The Lady Lions had an opportunity to put the game away after forcing Cunningham into a turnover six ticks later but couldn't take advantage after sophomore guard Kyeonia Harris missed a jumper with nine seconds showing.  Cunningham snagged the rebound and eventually found Velez for the eventual game-winner.
 

UAPB will be back in action Monday night when it hosts Prairie View. The Lady Lions will then hit the road for four consecutive games until finally returning home on Feb. 16 to face Southern.
 

FAST BREAK

• Junior forward Katherine Darden had a team-high 12 rebounds for UAPB, which eclipsed her previous career high of 11 that she had in the victory over Alcorn State.
• This is the second consecutive game that Darden had four blocks.
• Nine different players scored for the Lady Lions while 10 players got in the scoring for Texas Southern.
• UAPB's bench outscored Texas Southern's 21-3.
• There were 12 ties in the game and the lead changed hands 17 times.
• Texas Southern was just 11 of 24 from the free-throw line compared to 8 of 16 for UAPB.
• The Lady Lions forced the Lady Tigers into 19 turnovers and held a 46-45 rebounding advantage.
• UAPB also had a 28-26 edge in points in the point and registered 14 second-chance points to just 9 for Texas Southern.

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