PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas &8212;Alcorn State made a Texas-sized escape Monday night.

The Lady Braves won their second straight game to open the conference season, surviving a pesky Prairie View squad just two days removed from a 35-point loss to Southern.

Alcorn won 79-78 in overtime.

Rasaan Powell scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead Alcorn (2-0, 4-6), and LaToya Wily came off the bench for 15 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high eight assists.

&8220;It was ugly, but it was a victory,&8221; said Alcorn coach Shirley Walker, who gave her team a 30-minute tongue-lashing in the locker room after the game.

&8220;You&8217;ve got to find a way to win, and that&8217;s what we did. There was no reason for us to be in that position.&8221;

The offensive prowess of Powell and Wily made up for a myriad of miscues, as Alcorn committed 29 turnovers, shot an anemic 14-of-27 (51.9 percent) at the free throw line, and gave up 21 offensive rebounds.

&8220;To be the defending champ, every game ins the SWAC is going to be a war,&8221; Wily said. &8220;Alcorn has the target on its back. Prairie View played a great game, and that&8217;s what we have to expect in every game in the\ SWAC.

&8220;This was a good learning experience for us. Prairie View had a quickness advantage, and we had a size advantage. That kind of evened out. We&8217;ve just got to play together and play as a team.&8221;

The teams traded the lead five times in the second half, and Precious Sheats scored five points in a row to give Alcorn a 68-66 lead with 1:58 to play in regulation.

Both teams missed a free throw in the final minute &8212; one by Alcorn&8217;s Wily and one by Prairie View&8217;s Angel Smith &8212; to finish regulation tied at 69.

Alcorn opened the overtime period with a 9-2 run, taking a 78-71 lead with 1:51 to play. Prairie View then rallied, and Smith nailed a 3-pointer with less than a second to play to cut the Alcorn lead to 79-78.

Powell had made 1-of-2 free throws with 4.16 seconds to play, a free throw that made Smith&8217;s 30-footer meaningless.

Even with the victory, it was a costly night for the Lady Braves.

Tiffaney Smith aggravated her back injury when she collided head-first with the underpinning of the goal in the first half. She returned in the second half.

Freshman guard Britany Myatt also suffered a gash over her right eye, and she spent 10 minutes in the locker room. She returned and played with a bandage over her eye.