Cheatham and the Alcorn State Braves take on conference foe Mississippi Valley State

Alcorn State Braves (11-9, 8-1 SWAC) at Mississippi Valley State Devilettes (4-15, 3-5 SWAC)

Itta Bena, Mississippi; Thursday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Nakia Cheatham and Alcorn State take on Ariel Jefferson and Mississippi Valley State in SWAC play.

The Devilettes have gone 3-4 at home. Mississippi Valley State is ninth in the SWAC with 10.1 offensive rebounds per game led by Jefferson averaging 2.4.

The Braves are 8-1 in SWAC play. Alcorn State is 1-0 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

Mississippi Valley State's average of 4.3 made 3-pointers per game is 1.2 fewer made shots on average than the 5.5 per game Alcorn State gives up. Alcorn State's 36.6% shooting percentage from the field this season is 6.5 percentage points lower than Mississippi Valley State has allowed to its opponents (43.1%).

The matchup Thursday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jefferson is averaging 9.9 points and 6.6 rebounds for the Devilettes. Sydnei Marshall is averaging 10 points and 1.5 steals over the last 10 games.

Kiarra Henderson is averaging nine points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.9 steals for the Braves. Cheatham is averaging 12.7 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Devilettes: 3-7, averaging 61.2 points, 34.3 rebounds, 9.8 assists, 9.4 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 34.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.8 points per game.

Braves: 8-2, averaging 54.8 points, 30.9 rebounds, 12.9 assists, 9.5 steals and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 36.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 53.2 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.