CARBONDALE, Illinois -- The Tennessee State women’s basketball team used a strong fourth quarter to push past Alabama State, 74-64, in the opening game of the Preseason WNIT Consolation Round, Friday evening at SIU Arena.
The Lady Tigers (1-1) had four players score in double-digits led by I’mani Davis’ 20 points. Jayda Johnson finished with 19 points and six rebounds while Diamond Beatty came off the bench to score 12. Brianna Lawrence recorded the first double-double of her career with 10 points and 13 rebounds in addition to notching four steals for the second consecutive game.
Alabama State (0-2) was led in scoring by Britney Wright who had 17 points and seven rebounds. Daniele Ewart also tallied double-digits with 12 points.
The Lady Tigers shook off a slow start and after shooting 16.2 percent from the field in the first half, knocked down 51.5 percent of their attempts in the second.
TSU hit the first two shots of the game but quickly went cold as missed shots hampered the next several possessions. Despite the offensive struggles, the Lady Tigers only trailed, 13-8, at the end of the first quarter.
In the second frame, TSU managed to get its offense going and two three-pointers from Diamond Beatty and Brianna Lawrence sparked a 12-2 run that put TSU on top, 20-15, with 4:13 remaining in the half.
Alabama State, however, responded with a rally that cut Tennessee State’s lead down to just, 21-20, at the break.
In the third quarter, the teams traded buckets and played to a 33-33 tie with 5:01 on the clock. Jayda Johnson sank a couple of free-throws to give TSU a slight, 41-37, advantage three minutes later. The Hornets once again closed the gap as the score was knotted at 42-all heading into the final ten minutes.
The game was tied, 45-45, when TSU created a little distance with a 5-0 spurt. ASU stayed within striking distance and pulled within three following a couple of freebies. With just over four minutes left to play, I’mani Davis buried a wide-open three pointer to make the score, 57-49, in favor of TSU.
The Lady Tigers grabbed their largest lead of the game, 62-52, with less than two minutes remaining behind another bucket from Davis. The Hornets threatened down the stretch but the Lady Tigers maintained their composure and kept the opponents at bay.
TSU lost the battle of the boards, 46-44, but scored 28 points off of turnovers.
The Lady Tigers will face Southern Illinois tomorrow at 6 p.m. in SIU Arena.
BOX SCORE
COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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