Albany State women hammer Miles College

ALBANY — Albany State coach Robert Skinner smiled. The Lady Rams high-fived.

This wasn’t just a victory.

It was a statement for the Albany State women’s basketball team.

The Lady Rams (4-18 overall, 4-9 SIAC) smashed Miles College 72-39 Saturday at the HPER Gymnasium, winning their second straight and playing with a confidence-level that hasn’t been seen this year.

After struggling for the majority of the season, the Lady Rams are playing their best basketball with the conference tournament just around the corner.

And there wasn’t a better way to start the final homestand of the season than with an emphatic victory.

“We shot the ball well, played good defense and outrebounded them … and in my observation I thought we kind of outhustled them,” Skinner said. “That is the first time we’ve won back-to-back games all year. We’re playing some pretty good basketball.”

The story may have been ASU’s defense. They forced 18 turnovers and held the Lady Bears to 19 percent shooting (12 of 63) from the floor. Albany State built leads as high as 33 points in the game.

Guard Zuri Frost led the Lady Rams, who shot 38 percent (23 of 61) from the floor, with 18 points. Ashley Johnson added 11. Freshman Tyra Thompson, who scored 11 points, pulled down 15 rebounds.

“The closer you get to the tournament, the better you are supposed to play,” Skinner said. “I don’t know if they are just now realizing what it takes to play at the level that we need to be successful, but they’ve been playing pretty good.

“They shot the ball well, shot well from the free throw line and rebounded extremely well. Our defense was very good today.”

The Lady Rams will try to make it three straight Monday night when they entertain Tuskegee at 6 p.m.