BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Southwestern Athletic Conference has named Alabama A&M’s Dariauna Lewis and Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s Tyler Pyburn its SWAC Women’s Basketball Co-Players of the Week for outstanding performances during the opening week of competition.

Lewis (Omaha, Neb.) delivered an outstanding season opening performance as AAMU upset No. 11 (Mid-Major) Troy 80-69. In 26 minutes of play she scored 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting which was highlighted by a double-double with 10 rebounds. She also went a perfect 5-of-5 from the foul line and added a blocked shot.

Pyburn (Blooming Grove, Texas) was a key contributor for Arkansas-Pine Bluff during the Lady Lions dominating victory over Arkansas State, 85-68. She scored a career-high 23 points in UAPB’s win over the Sun Belt Conference foe, ending a 13-game losing streak against the Red Wolves. Pyburn had career highs in field goals made (nine) and three-pointers (five) while shooting 56.3 percent from the field (9-16) and 50 percent from the three-point line (5-10).

Other Notable Performances:

• Southern’s Genovea Johnson led all scorers while recording a career high 21 points and five rebounds against Kansas State of the Big 12 Conference.
• Alcorn State’s Kirdis Clark produced double-digit scoring efforts in opening games at Southeastern Louisiana and Wichita State. She led the Lady Braves in three statistical categories against the Shockers tallying 11 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. She added 12 points, three assists, and three steals in her senior campaign debut at SLU while averaging 11.5 points and 5.0 rebounds through two games.

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JONESBORO  – Tyler Pyburn scored a career-high 23 points to lead four players in double figures as the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff women’s basketball won at Arkansas State 85-68 Friday at National Bank Arena.

Shicoriya Orr added 19 points, Trasity Totten scored 17, and Joyce Kennerson 16 as women’s basketball ended a 13-game losing streak to Arkansas St.

Leading 40-36 at the half, Arkansas State cut the UAPB lead to one on three different occasions, the last at 49-48 with just under six minutes to play in the third quarter.

The Lady Lions answered with a three-pointer by Totten, and a layup and later a free-throw by Kennerson to withstand the run. UAPB led the game for more than 32 minutes and never trailed after taking the lead with just over nine minutes to play in the first half.

“We talked all week in practice that preparation is your separation,” said second-year UAPB head coach Dawn Brown. “For us, we did a really good job in terms of getting in the gym amd staying focused on the things we needed to do. We knew we would have to be able to hit shots. Having the opportunity to rep those things and looking at the shots we knew we were going to get in our offense, we practiced on all week. I have to give these young women credit for coming out and working so hard.”

The lead see-sawed in the first quarter, with UAPB trailing 20-19 after one. The Golden Lions took a big-second quarter lead on a 16-3 run to begin the period to take a 35-23 lead on a Pyburn three-pointer. Arkansas State made a late run to cut the UAPB lead to four at the half, setting the stage for the key third-quarter stretch.

In the fourth quarter, a Pyburn three with just under four minutes to play gave the Lady Lions a double-digit lead they would not relinquish.

UAPB will host Central Arkansas Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the H.O. Clemmons Arena.

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