Florida A&M rallied from an early 11-2 deficit to bowl past Stetson, 54-37 in Gaither Gymnasium Monday night.

Florida A&M (6-0) remained perfect on the season, but fell behind early to the visiting Hatters (1-7), which took advantage of some sloppy play by the Lady Rattlers to build their early lead.

The Lady Rattlers were also without junior guard Deidra Jones, who sat out Monday’s affair with a severe wrist sprain, which could sideline her for at least 10 days.

Still, FAMU rallied behind seniors Q’Vaunda Curry and Joslyne Jackson, who finished with 12 and nine points respectively, while junior guard Stephanie Foster added 12 points and six rebounds. Junior Denise Tate hauled down 11 rebounds, eight on the defensive end Monday, while Curry pulled down seven boards.

FAMU led 24-22 at the break, outscoring the Hatters 22-11 over the final 15 minutes of the first half.

It was a low scoring half, as both teams shot just over 30 percent (Stetson, 33.3; FAMU, 32.1) from the floor, while combining for 24 turnovers (FAMU 13, Stetson 11).

The Lady Rattlers shot just 37 percent the second half, but held the Hatters to 14.8 shooting (4-of-27) from the floor in the second half, to pull away to leads as large as 20 points in the waning minutes.

Tierra Brown led Stetson with 10 points, with Brittany Carannante adding eight points, while Vlendy Roldan hauled down a team-high 10 rebounds Monday.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Lady Rattlers host Jacksonville University Thursday at 7 p.m. in Gaither, before heading to Tampa to face South Florida on Saturday.

FAMU NOTES: FAMU coach Debra Clark was honored in pre-game ceremonies for reaching the 200-win milestone on November 14 against Albany State.... Clark, who is recovering from thyroid surgery, has FAMU off to its’ best start, 6-0 since the 1983-84 season, when the women under Mickey Clayton started the season, 7-0, finishing

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