Late Push Leads to TSU Road Win at Morehead State

MOREHEAD, Kentucky  -- The Tennessee State University women’s basketball team used a rally in the second half to take control of the game despite having to hold off Morehead State down the stretch in a, 71-66, win Thursday night in Johnson Arena.

The victory snapped a four-game road losing skid for Tennessee State (11-17, 8-7 OVC).

Chelsea Hudson led TSU with 21 points and seven rebounds while Jayda Johnson recorded 12 points and three steals. Alana Morris finished the game with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Morehead State (11-17, 5-10 OVC) was paced by Almesha  Jone’s  25 points as Mackenzie Arledge was the only other MSU player to reach double-digits with 11.

Much like the last three outings, Tennessee State got off to a slow offensive start. Midway through the opening frame, TSU had only shot 33.3 percent from the field while Morehead State connected on 60 percent from the floor.

Before the final media timeout of the half, TSU had fallen behind, 30-20. From there, however, the Lady Tigers made six of their next seven field goal attempts and used a 13-5 run to pull within two, 35-33, before the halftime break.  

Five quick points from Jayda Johnson to start the second half erased TSU’s deficit and put the Lady Tigers on top, 38-35.

Morehead State regained the advantage, 47-40, before Chelsea Hudson made a free-throw to end a three-minute scoring drought for TSU.

Over a span of six minutes TSU clawed from behind and knotted the score at 54-all with 7:31 remaining.

TSU took the lead on the next play following a jumper by Brianna Lawrence in the paint. Two more buckets from Alana Morris and Chelsea Hudson made the score, 60-54, in favor of the Lady Tigers.

The Lady Tigers maintained the lead for the rest of the game but the Eagles stayed within striking distance. MSU buried a triple with 1:01 on the clock to cut the deficit down to two, 66-64.

On TSU’s next trip down the floor, Rachel Allen scored in the paint to give the Lady Tigers a four-point cushion. Following a missed shot by the Eagles on their next possession, Allen made one free throw.

Morehead State missed its next few shot attempts before committing a turnover. Alana Morris stepped up and made two free-throws to put the game away.

TSU outrebounded the opponent, 38-29, and forced MSU into 21 turnovers.

Tennessee State returns to action on Saturday, March 1 for the final regular season game of the 2013-14 campaign. TSU will face EKU on the road at 4:15 p.m. ET in McBrayer Arena.

 

FINAL STATS

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION