LORMAN &045; Whatever the outcome of tonight’s Alcorn-Valley women’s game, you can bet on the following things happening:

4The winning coach will be extremely happy to win, although it was against a personal friend.

4It will be decided in the final 10 minutes or less.

4Both coaches will talk about the game over the phone in the days to come, maybe even that night, and extend to each other the utmost courtesy no matter what the score.

It’s the latest in the series of battles involving Valley head coach former Alcorn assistant Nate Kilbert and longtime Alcorn head coach Shirley Walker. Kilbert spent 10 years as an assistant under Walker and two more prior to that as a graduate assistant before taking the Valley job following the 2000-01 season.

And since then, Kilbert hasn’t beaten his old coach yet. He’ll have another shot today when the Lady Devils visit Alcorn at 4 p.m.

&uot;I know it’s going to be a war down there,&uot; Kilbert said. &uot;It should be a good matchup. We’re excited about coming. You’re not going to believe this &045; we talk every night, sometimes two or three times a night. She called me this morning. We stay in touch all the time. But I haven’t beaten her since I left.&uot;

The talks are frequent, but Walker admitted there are certain things as the opposition she can’t share &045; and vice-versa. The contest is another homecoming for Kilbert at the Whitney Complex after spending so many years there, although it’s not a big as the first time he brought his Valley team down in the 2001-02 season.

Nonetheless, Walker enjoys having Kilbert and his team visit.

&uot;He’s a very good coach, and I have the utmost respect for him,&uot; Walker said. &uot;He’s a great young man and works hard. I know every time he and his players hit the floor they are working hard and doing what they have to do to get the job done. This one always has a special touch to it. I just hope my kids play and do what they have to do.&uot;

Kilbert enjoyed his time at Alcorn, also serving as head volleyball coach there, and admitted he’s picked up several little methods of coaching from Walker and applied them at Valley.

Leaving a place after 12 years was tough, but he welcomed the opportunity to take a head coaching position and coach at his alma mater.

&uot;Alcorn took care of me,&uot; he said. &uot;I really enjoyed it there. I had to come back to where I went to school. It was a hard decision, but I think I made the right one. Now I find myself doing things that she did. She taught me so much about how to deal with players and certain situations.&uot;

And if he’s still in the mood for learning, Walker could probably teach a class on how to rebound from a disappointing loss. Kilbert’s team could be coming into a hornets’ nest today with the Lady Braves coming back off that embarrassing loss at Grambling on Monday.

The Lady Braves (8-12, 6-5) had 33 turnovers and hit just six of 19 free throws in a 77-51 defeat in a game that took the swagger out of a team that knocked off Jackson State in Jackson the game prior.

&uot;All this week we’ve been trying to prepare for Mississippi Valley,&uot; Walker said. &uot;Turnovers all season have been killing us. When we get to the free throw line, I hope we can hit it. I really felt like (Monday) was a lot of immaturity throughout the team. What good is it to beat Jackson and lay down for Grambling? The players didn’t show up. I was very, very disappointed in that. Nobody took the attitude to be the mother of the coach on the floor. It looked like they were going through the motions. I thought we never left Jackson.&uot;

But it’s been a season of frustration and bad breaks for the Lady Devils, who have sustained injuries to some key scholarship players and are now relying on walk-ons. The Delta Devils, who have lost to Alcorn in the last 10 meetings dating back to the 1998-99 season, dropped a 61-55 decision to the Lady Braves in Itta Bena back on Jan. 17.

Rejohnna Anthony, one of those scholarship players, is battling through stress fractures to the knee and ankle.

Valley has also lost four of their last five.

&uot;Every game we’ve played has been close,&uot; Kilbert said. &uot;Last year (Alcorn) had us 40-19 at halftime, but the rest of the games have been close. We should have beaten them here this year. If you look at our team this year &045; Southern beat us two at home, Alabama State beat us three at home &045; nobody has beaten us bad.

&uot;I think we can come to Alcorn and win. I really feel we’ve got a good chance at winning.&uot;

That may not be as that easy. The Lady Braves own them in the all-time series at 39-18.

But regardless the outcome, Kilbert and Walker will probably talk on the phone Sunday about the game and other things not even related to basketball.

&uot;We have a special bond, and everybody knows that,&uot; Walker said. &uot;We know we’ll play one another, but we’ll talk business. There are certain things he won’t tell me, and there are certain things I won’t tell him. When Nate gets on the floor, Nate wants to beat me just as bad as he wants to beat anybody else. And to be honest, I don’t care who it is &045; I want to win. I know he feels the same way.&uot;