TSU Lady Tigers Start OVC Play With, 62-55, Win

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- The Tennessee State women’s basketball team moved to 1-0 in conference play with a, 62-55, win over Southeast Missouri in the Gentry Center on Saturday night.

Briana Morrow paced the Tigers with 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting. The senior also hauled in a team-high 11 rebounds.

Chelsea Hudson added 12 points for Tennessee State (4-8, 1-0 OVC).

SEMO (7-8, 0-2 OVC) was led by Jasmine Robinson’s 17 points.

The Redhawks outshot the Lady Tigers 42 to 38 percent, but TSU’s defense was impregnable, forcing 25 turnovers.

The game started off tight between the two squads, and SEMO clung to a 13-10 lead through the first 7:26 thanks to a 60 percent shooting line.

The teams went scoreless for the next 4:27 until Morrow ended the drought with a jumper and a layup to give the Lady Tigers a one-point lead with 7:23 to go before halftime.



The back-to-back-buckets ignited a 14-2 TSU run to put the home team up, 24-15. The Lady Tigers made six-of-nine shots (66.7 percent), starting with Morrow’s first hoop.

The Redhawks quickly cut the lead to five, but the TSU defense held them scoreless for the final 2:56 of the half, to go into the locker room ahead, 30-19.

The Lady Tigers forced an impressive 18 turnovers in the opening stanza, leading to 13 points.

Both teams shot above 50 percent from the field during the first eight minutes of the second period, but Southeast had another pair of miscues to extend the Tennessee State advantage to 48-33.

The Redhawks were able to shake off the turnovers and forced TSU into three-straight empty possessions, leading to a 7-0 run.

With TSU on top 55-44 later in the half, Southeast scored 11 straight to tie the game with just two minutes to go.

Hudson finally produced on the offensive end by draining a layup and drawing a foul, leading to an old-fashioned three-point play.

The Lady Tigers made 4-of-6 freebies down the stretch, and walked away with a 62-55 win.

TSU was outrebounded in the game, 42-37, but had 13 offensive boards that led to 15 second-chance points.

Tennessee State will look to move to 2-0 in conference play when the squad squares off against Eastern Illinois at home on Jan. 7. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION