LORMAN &8212; Alcorn State&8217;s Lady Braves practice shooting 3-pointers &8212; they really do &8212; despite the obvious.

The game plan is to get it inside.

The Lady Braves might lag behind everyone else in the Southwestern Athletic Conference in shot percentage behind the arc (50 of 205, 24.4 percent), but Saturday&8217;s effort should bring that up significantly. They hit six of 12 3-pointers to help take the pressure off the inside game.

Shooting from out there is just like shooting from anywhere else &8212; it&8217;s all about being confident.

&8220;It&8217;s not that we don&8217;t work on it in practice,&8221; sophomore guard Tanika Nunez said after hitting two 3-pointers. &8220;Our game plan is to go inside to our post players. They started falling tonight, and that built up our confidence for the next game.&8221;

It was good for the offense since Alabama State came into the game with one mission in mind &8212; don&8217;t let Rasaan Powell beat us inside. The Lady Hornets stayed in a 2-3 zone for almost the entire game, and several times the shots were there for the taking.

Alcorn just had to knock them down.

&8220;That took some pressure off us, and we had to take what was given,&8221; freshman guard Britany Myatt said. &8220;We weren&8217;t getting the calls we wanted inside, and I&8217;m pleased (Powell) kept her head. Tonight we all played together and worked the ball. We took what they gave us played off of it.&8221;

Myatt, Nunez and Precious Sheats returned the favor on the other end as well as the Lady Braves&8217; defense against Alabama State&8217;s guards made a difference late in the game. The Lady Hornets finished with 21 turnovers, and Myatt and Sheats combined for sevens steals in the game.

Myatt, a Detroit native who had her share of struggles early, stayed on the floor for 31 minutes and demonstrated a budding chemistry with Nunez on the perimeter as two small, quick and fearless guards.

Walker gave Myatt her third start of the season Saturday.

&8220;I feel a lot more confident and know my teammates back me,&8221; Myatt said. &8220;It really helps out. I&8217;m just finally accepting my role. In high school, everybody is a star. I&8217;ve got to play my role and when it&8217;s time to step up, step up.&8221;Nunez can relate to that. As a freshman last season, she provided a spark on plenty of opportunities while showing she no fear driving the lane for a bucket despite being only 5-5.

Myatt is two inches taller, but both play a similar style of basketball. Myatt got the start in place of Sheats, who had started eight games coming into Saturday.

&8220;Just because she&8217;s a freshman, she thinks she&8217;s not going to play,&8221; Nunez said. &8220;She thinks about it too much. If she plays like she played tonight, she&8217;ll be all right. We need her to play like that every game. She&8217;s a tough girl, and she&8217;s not scared to go inside or drive to the hoop. If her confidence stays up, she&8217;ll be a big asset to our team.&8221;

The guard play allowed Powell to take a break at times and not have to muscle her way for a basket. The big post player from Columbia who is already being mentioned as a Player of the Year candidate hardly touched the ball in the first half, and the Lady Braves hit three 3-pointers within the first five minutes of the game.

Another big help was reserve forward Shawntawnee Collins, who played 21 minutes with Latoya Wily on the bench with three fouls and picked up six points and six rebounds.

That, too, helped take the pressure off Powell &8212; something ASU head coach Shirley Walker has preached perhaps the entire season.

&8220;When I took (Powell) out in the last minutes, it looked like she was upset,&8221; Walker said. &8220;It worked out well for us. Collins came in and did a good job. I&8217;ll tell you something I really didn&8217;t know and should have &8212; I didn&8217;t know Collins was a freshman.

&8220;My assistants, Elvis Robinson and D.I. Powers, they did a tremendous job on the bench with me. Coach Robinson did a great job of helping me break down the X&8217;s and O&8217;s, and Coach Powers has always been a smart young lady and brings a lot to the post position for us teaching kids learn what they can and can&8217;t do.&8221;