TSU Lady Tigers drop second straight with loss to EKU

NASHVILLE, Tennessee - The Tennessee State University women's basketball team suffered a disappointing, 73-66, loss to Eastern Kentucky Wednesday night in the Gentry Center.

Tennessee State (8-15, 4-7 OVC) was led in scoring by Kim Haynes' 19 points while Simone Hopes added 16. Rachel Allen (12) and Chelsea Hudson (10) also recorded double figures as TSU's leading scorer Jasmin Shuler was held to only three points.

Raechele Gray led Eastern Kentucky (11-10, 6-4 OVC) with 18 points while Jade Barber added 17. Marie Carpenter scored 14 as Alex Jones posted a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Tennessee State got off to a slow start and fell behind Eastern Kentucky, 13-4, at the 14:46 mark. The Lady Tigers finally got going after Chelsea Hudson hit a free-throw that sparked a 9-2 run to pulled the them within two.

TSU evened the score at 17-all on a bucket by Hudson before an offensive rebound and put back by Simone Hopes gave the Lady Tigers the lead.

Back-to-back scores from TSU made the advantage, 23-17, before EKU regained the lead, 27-25, with 1:39 left in the half. The Lady Tigers tied the game at 27 before going into the half trailing, 31-29.

Eastern Kentucky opened the second half with consecutive three-pointers to go ahead, 37-29, with 1:10 ticked off the clock.

TSU was trailing, 39-34, when the visitors stretched their lead to, 45-34, with 11:52 left in the game. Kim Haynes nailed a triple from the top of the key to cut the deficit down to seven but EKU responded with a 7-0 run to move ahead, 56-42.

Another triple by Haynes followed by a lay-up from Simone Hopes pulled the Lady Tigers to within single digits but the Lady Colonels answered with a three-pointer as the shot clock expired to go up, 65-54, with 3:34 remaining.

TSU fell behind, 71-59, before four points including a three-pointer by Jasmin Shuler, made the score, 71-63.

Kim Haynes knocked down her fourth triple of the game at the buzzer to make the final score, 73-66.

Although Tennessee State only committed 10 turnovers, the Lady Tigers seemed out of sync the entire game. TSU shot 32.1 percent (25-of-78) from the field and 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from three-point range.

Eastern Kentucky knocked down 43.1 percent (25-of-58) of its shots, including 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from long range.

TSU held the advantage in rebounds, 47-43, but EKU dished out 14 assists compared to TSU's eight.

The Lady Tigers return to action on Saturday, Feb. 4 on the road at Southeast Missouri. Game time is slated for 5:30 p.m. in the Show Me Center.

Courtesy: Tennessee State University Sports Information