BIRMINGHAM, Ala. &045; Alcorn State’s Lady Braves opened up the game hot and rolled to a 72-44 win over Texas Southern Wednesday in the opening round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament.

The Lady Braves will face Grambling at 12:30 p.m. Friday in the second round.

The Lady Braves (19-8) opened up a 10-2 lead at the start and later came with a 15-2 run that ended with two free throws from LaToya Johnson for a 25-12 lead.

The Lady Braves ended the first half on a 10-0 run as Tnonealyer Powers’ layup left the score at 38-17 at half.

&uot;We just played Texas Southern, and they took us to overtime in the game of the season,&uot; ASU head coach Shirley Walker said. &uot;The key to our victory tonight was our defense. We played intense today and were on target with our execution.&uot;

Rasaan Powell led the Lady Braves with 17 points off the bench, and her 10 rebounds was also a team-high. Powers finished with 16.

Jennifer Hickmon and Victoria Jones led Texas Southern with 12 apiece.