Alcorn State Interviews And Broadcasts · Charles Edmond

Final Alcorn State 56 Bethune Cookman 51 Head Coach Nate Kilbert Post Game

January 23, 2026·18 min·1 clip

Coach Nate Kilbert admits he couldn't breathe during the game, fearing another fourth-quarter collapse.

1. Alcorn State Lady Braves head coach Nate Kilbert speaks with interviewer Charles Edmond after Alcorn's 56-51 win over Bethune-Cookman in Daytona, Florida. 2. Kilbert is the sole guest; Charles Edmond serves as host and play-by-play voice, referencing a producer named Jamario Brooks at the close. 3. The episode's central question is how Alcorn managed to hold on despite a 12-point lead shrinking to 3 in the fourth quarter. 4. Kilbert opens by admitting he 'couldn't breathe' during the game, citing a history of this team allowing big leads to evaporate against Bethune-Cookman. 5. He identifies two primary failure points: missed free throws (including Cheatham going one for two at the line late) and a Bethune-Cookman jump-zone defense that slowed Alcorn's offensive execution. 6. Bethune-Cookman's strategy of avoiding man-to-man and instead 'standing around a lot' in a zone forced Alcorn players to read the defense rather than run their established sets. 7. Alcorn's biggest lead was 12 points, but the margin was rarely comfortable, with Bethune-Cookman cutting it to a one-possession game in the fourth quarter before Alcorn got decisive defensive stops. 8. Two offensive fouls drawn by Alcorn defenders — charges taken by multiple players in key moments — are credited by Kilbert as game-changing plays that helped close the game out. 9. Coach Kilbert describes being 2-0 in video challenges this season, including overturning a blocked-ball ruling during a one-possession stretch when he polled player Kiki directly to confirm the ball hadn't been touched. 10. Kiara Henderson is noted for 9 rebounds and a clutch bucket late in the game, though she missed several shots around the basket she typically converts. 11. Freshman Jazzy Johnson is identified as the episode's forward-looking focal point: her first-half three-pointer gave Alcorn the cushion they needed to survive second-half slippage. 12. Kilbert projects Johnson as a future star — nearly six feet tall, versatile across positions two through four, and a better outside shooter than Henderson — and says he plans to develop her at point guard. 13. The coaching staff was able to rest three starters late in the second quarter, with bench players Janae Anderson, Jada Moore, and E.K. Polo holding the margin steady during that stretch. 14. Kilbert praises the team's defensive versatility — mixing 2-1-2 zone, 3-1-1 zone, and man-to-man — for forcing 24 Bethune-Cookman turnovers. 15. The arena conditions in Daytona — kept very cold to prevent a sweating floor — are mentioned as a legitimate reason why shooting percentages suffer there. 16. A SWAC standings update reveals that Alabama State upset first-place Texas Southern 82-74 on the road, a result that visibly surprises Kilbert. 17. As a result, three teams are now tied for first at 5-1: Alcorn State, Southern University, and Alabama A&M; FAMU is second at 4-2. 18. The episode is conducted in a relaxed postgame-interview format with the coach speaking frankly and the interviewer asking pointed follow-ups about individual players and strategic decisions. 19. SWAC women's basketball fans following the conference title race will find the standings update and Kilbert's FAMU scouting comments most useful. 20. Listeners with no familiarity with SWAC basketball or Alcorn State's roster will find the individual player references difficult to follow without prior context.

As heard by us

A close 56-51 win becomes plainspoken Lady Braves postgame basketball talk.

Alcorn State's 56-51 win in Daytona lands as tense and earned, with Nate Kilbert laying out the nerves, the missed free throws, and the cushion the Lady Braves built before Bethune pushed back late.

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You hear the nerves behind a 56-51 road win in Daytona.

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