One of Johnetta Hayes-Perry’s assistants at Texas Southern tried to persuade the fifth-year head coach to keep Joyce Kennerson in a blowout game.

“And why would I do that?” Hayes-Perry recalled asking the assistant, not wanting to risk injury or let the game get further out of hand.

With two more points, Kennerson would pass Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell for the NCAA lead in scoring average, the assistant reminded her.

Kennerson’s numbers were not pedestrian at all. The 2015 Port Arthur Memorial graduate totaled 29 points, three assists, and six steals while shooting 10 of 15 from the floor in 27 minutes during a 74-36 win over Wiley College on Monday.

“If she made her free throws, we wouldn’t have this problem,” Hayes-Perry said. “She was 3 for 7 at the line.”

Kennerson, who was named SWAC Player of the Week for a second straight time Tuesday, wasn’t even aware she ranked second behind Mitchell until she saw a post about the national statistics chart, Hayes-Perry said.

“I think she would tell you she’s more concerned about getting Texas Southern back into the NCAA tournament,” the coach added. “If it takes scoring 30 points per game to get her team there, that’s what she would do.”

Kennerson’s almost there.

At 25.3 points per game, she only trails Mitchell by 0.4 for the NCAA scoring lead. It’s quite the accomplishment for the 5-foot-4 point guard leading the charge at Texas Southern (3-4), a mid-major university in a major city where the Houston Cougars and Rice Owls can take up the majority of headlines, if not the Texas Longhorns or Texas A&M Aggies.

“I can’t keep up with what I’m doing,” Kennerson said. “I mean, it still seems unreal. I’ve been working for this for so long. Coming from a small town and going to a small university in a big town, you have the sterotypes where people don’t get enough respect.”

The true junior has earned plenty of it, however, in her career.

She was named SWAC Player of the Week three times last season and All-SWAC first team, on her way to leading the Tigers to their first SWAC women’s tournament championship in program history at Houston’s Toyota Center. In the process, Kennerson helped Texas Southern win a share of the SWAC regular-season championship for the second year in a row.

She finished her outstanding sophomore season averaging 18.3 points per game, nearly doubling her freshman average and scoring 317 more points than in 2015-16.

As solid a scorer she is, Kennerson gets all over the court on defense. Her 3.17 steals per game ties her for 27^th nationally, with Lamar’s Chastadie Barrs (6.56) leading that category. (Lamar’s Moe Kinard is tied for 29^th at 3.14.)

“Defensively, on ball, she’s great,” Hayes-Perry said. “She gets her hand in the perimeter, and she’ll get in and rebound. She sacrifices her body a lot.

“I’d like her to be more reserved because she plays so many minutes, but I can’t change her game.”

For Hayes-Perry, a Houston native who has family in the Golden Triangle, Kennerson’s ranking among the nation’s best scorers is “a great accomplishment” and brings national attention to her program.

“She has found her niche,” Hayes-Perry said. “She’s been finding a way to score the ball. She hasn’t forced it. I’m impressed with her ability to compete for 38 to 40 minutes per game.”

Kennerson already battled adversity once this season, missing a game at Kansas because of a flu virus. The next game, she went for 33 points in a 70-56 home loss to Texas State.

“It was an eye-opener to let people know I’m back,” Kennerson said.

Fast forward three games to a visit to Sam Houston State. Kennerson shot 13 for 18 from the floor (72.2 percent), including 5 of 8 from three-point range, in a career-high 35-point game to lead the Tigers to a 77-58 win over Sam Houston State. She also became the eighth Texas Southern play to score 1,000 or more points in that game.

Kennerson, a 55.1 percent field-goal shooter and 48.7 percent three-point markswoman, now has 1,045 career points.

She’s just a junior.

“Really, practice,” Kennerson said, asked about the secret to her success. “I’m coming to believe it, that practice makes perfect. I’m coming into the gym all day putting up shots.”

Kennerson is sure she’ll help the Tigers make a second straight appearance in the NCAA tournament. As the season moves along, she thinks she’ll have more to prove.

“You’re just going to have to stay tuned,” she said.

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I.C. Murrell: 549-8541. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews