LORMAN &045; In their brief stint in first place, Alcorn’s Lady Braves found out real quick what comes with the territory.

A big bull’s eye placed squarely on your back.

It couldn’t have been any bigger on the backs of the Lady Braves Saturday night, and Mississippi Valley was definitely up for the occasion. The Devilettes played solid on both ends of the floor &045; particularly defense down low &045; to hand the Lady Braves their first loss in conference, 59-50.

The win was also Valley’s first in 12 tries of Alcorn and just the third in the last 28 meetings in the series.

&uot;I think we really weren’t focused,&uot; Alcorn point guard Shikhia Sims said. &uot;It was too close early, and from the beginning we should have gotten up on them. We really didn’t come to play. It’s a wakeup call. We’ve just got to get in the gym and prepare for Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Monday). We just didn’t come to play.&uot;

At least the off night came at a time where it’s still early in conference for both teams and everyone else who wants to make travel plans for Birmingham. Armed with only eight players, the Devilettes stayed in the game throughout and never went away thanks to solid defense down in the post.

It’s no secret the Lady Braves will pound it inside offensively, and Valley head coach Nate Kilbert prepared accordingly. Rasaan Powell and Candace Roberts had three points each, and the Lady Braves finished with just 12 points in the paint.

&uot;I thought we took them out of what they wanted to do, and that’s go inside,&uot; said Kilbert, who coached for 12 years under Walker and recorded his first win against his mentor. &uot;I coached with Coach Walker for 12 years, and that’s what they want to do. We took them out of what they wanted to do and took them out of their game. Our kids did a great job.&uot;

The Devilettes (3-1, 5-8) used a stretch midway through the second half that may have put the game away. Alcorn cut the lead to 36-34 thanks to a bucket from LaToya Johnson at the 15:10 mark but didn’t hit another field goal until Natasha Dennis’ bucket with 8:40 left.

By that time the Devilettes scored six points, brought the double- and triple-teams in the post and started playing like the game was theirs to win.

&uot;This was something I had warned them all week about,&uot; Walker said. &uot;I’m afraid to play Valley because I know I’m going against a good coach. But I’m not going to put it all on the girls. There were some things we as a coaching staff did not do. I thought we came in with a good game plan, but we didn’t have a good game &045; didn’t have a good game at all.&uot;

Neither Roberts nor Powell had a field goal after Valley took the eight-point lead, and the Devilettes kept with their matchup defense. Alcorn responded with a 3-pointer from Tanika Nunez to trim the deficit to 42-40 at the 7:57 mark, and the freshman added another that kept the deficit at two at 46-44 two minutes later.

Valley then slowed the pace of the game down and really cracked down on Alcorn’s offense. A Johnson bucket at the 3:22 mark was her team’s only offense for a span of over four minutes.

Kebra Nanton hit a huge 3-pointer for Valley, one of the team’s seven triples for the game.

&uot;When they triple-teamed us inside, we didn’t kick the ball out,&uot; Walker said. &uot;We didn’t see we had to kick the ball back out and get a good shot. Our defense was weak, also. I just don’t think we were focused. We were not focused and did not do what we needed to do. I thought Coach Kilbert came in here with a good game plan. I take my hat off to Coach Kilbert and his staff.&uot;

Valley stayed in control in the first half, taking a lead six-point lead at one point. Portia Wilson hit a 3-pointer at the 5:55 mark for a 17-11 lead, and she led her team with 15 points.

Thanks to Sims’ sharp shooting from the perimeter, the Lady Braves were able to rally right before the half and take the lead. Sims knocked down three triples in the final three minutes, including one with 1:03 left to break up at 24-24 tie.

Valley hit a 3-pointer just before Sims’ first one when Kebra Nanton hit one with 3:36 left for a 20-16 Valley lead. Sims then hit a 3-pointer and hit two free throws after getting fouled driving the lane for a 21-20 lead.

Leticia Smith hit a short jumper for Valley to take back the lead, but Sims nailed her second 3-pointer for a 24-22 lead.

&uot;That’s probably the best offensive game we’ve had all year,&uot; Kilbert said. &uot;We hit some big 3-pointers down the stretch. Honestly, I think this is Coach Walker’s best team. I think what we did was we woke them up. The rest of the conference better get ready.&uot;