LORMAN &045; Here are the positive effects of letting one of the biggest fish in women’s college basketball get away.

There may be a better sense of confidence for the Alcorn Lady Braves after missing opportunities down the stretch to put away Louisiana Tech Monday night. The 62-61 loss has also helped them realize where they need to improve, namely getting in better game shape, and hitting those darned free throws.

But that’s fine. For the Lady Braves, games don’t really start to count Jan. 3 when they host Prairie View A&M.;

&uot;We had a day off (Tuesday), and we had our first practice today, all of us together as a family,&uot; Alcorn head coach Shirley Walker said. &uot;We came back, and I think that game really helped us. We had a good workout. I was a little worried it would throw us in a little slump, but the practice was good. I didn’t see the lagging part I thought I may have seen coming off a big game like that.&uot;

If anything, it may have raised some eyebrows around the Southwestern Athletic Conference and women’s basketball in the region at how well the Lady Braves played against the Lady Techsters. Alcorn had a 13-point lead in the second half and basically out-played them for 35 minutes.

Now the Lady Braves have a chance to build on that momentum between now and SWAC play when they visit Jacksonville State Monday and the Georgia Tech tournament Dec. 30 and 31.

&uot;People think because we’re SWAC we shouldn’t be able to beat big teams,&uot; center Rasaan Powell said. &uot;This is a big Division I, and it was great to play against them. It would have been nice if we would have won. That will help us when we play Jacksonville State and Georgia Tech.

&uot;People will still look at the score and say, ‘What’s going on at Alcorn?’ We’ve still got a young team. It’s still early in the season.&uot;

The Lady Braves had the lead early in the second half and had an upset in the works thanks to a solid defense that forced Tech into 25 turnovers. The Lady Braves used a 12-0 run to start the second half and stayed in a 2-3 zone defense most of the game to hold off Tech’s inside game.

It worked for just about 40 minutes before Tech hit some 3-pointers in the second half and Alcorn missed some free throws down the stretch.

&uot;It was a little difficult,&uot; Tech head coach Kurt Budke said. &uot;Getting in here and not having a shootaround in this gym. I was definitely proud we did finish the job. Time and time again we missed the easy shots.&uot;

The biggest problem the Lady Braves had last year came back to haunt them late when Powell and Vernette Skeete both missed the front ends of one-and-one opportunities. Powell connected on all four shots up until her trip to the line with six seconds left.

Skeete came up with a steal and drew a foul with 36 seconds left after she shot with too much time left on the shot clock with the Lady Braves clinging to a one-point lead.

&uot;I think we were too anxious and rushed our shots,&uot; Powell said. &uot;They kind of stopped feeding us (inside) and started going more from the outside. We should have run our zone offense. I think that’s what hurt us.&uot;

The conference honored LaToya Johnson as Player of the Week for her efforts Monday and in the win over Arkansas Baptist. Johnson had 10 points Monday.

But Powell may have turned in the best performance Monday underneath with 12 points and 13 rebounds. The sophomore from Columbia just took over the starting center spot after coming off the bench all of last year behind Candace Roberts.

Roberts finished the first half Monday with 10 points and 10 boards. But Tanika Nunez and Vernette Skeete also came up with solid play on defense.

&uot;I think she knows she can get the job done,&uot; Walker said. &uot;We’ll look to her for rebounding and scoring. She’s got to get in better shape. ‘Saan can be one of the best basketball players who have played at Alcorn State University and this conference. I talk to her and Nunez, and I don’t they realize what they can do on the basketball court and in the game.&uot;