TSU Lady Tigers Up Winning Streak to Four with 69-58 Win over Murray State

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- The Tennessee State women’s basketball team extended its winning streak to four with a 69-58 win over Murray State on Saturday night in the Gentry Center.

For the second time this week, the Lady Tigers had to recover from a weak third quarter to push past the Racers. After leading by 14 at the half, the Lady Tigers fell victim to fouls and turnovers, allowing a 22-14 run by Murray State. A strong defense and late run would prove key in the Lady Tiger’s fourth conference win of the season.

The Lady Tigers (9-9, 4-1 OVC) had three players score in double-digits. Junior Jayda Johnson led the team with a career-high 28 points on the night. Fellow junior I’mani Davis finished with a double-double, scoring 12 and notching a career-high 17 rebound while senior Brianna Lawrence finished the contest with 18 points.

Murray State (6-10, 2-3 OVC) had two players score in double-digits and was led by Jashae Lee, who notched 15 points on the night.

TSU opened the game with 15 unanswered points, keeping the Racers scoreless until a layup at the 4:26 mark put Murray State on the board. The Racers ate away at their 13-point deficit with a 9-4 run in the final minutes of the first, but would continue to trail the Lady Tigers 19-11 going into the second.

A Murray State foul took Davis to the line in the opening minutes of the second, allowing The Lady Tigers to tack on two more and extend their lead, 21-11. The teams went back and forth for the next five minutes, with Murray outscoring TSU 10-9 before the media timeout. With 4:43 left on the clock, the Lady Tigers would use a 9-4 run, highlighted by five points from Johnson, to go into the second half with a 14-point lead (39-25) over the Racers.

Multiple Tennessee State fouls and turnovers in the third would allow the Racers to outscore the Lady Tigers 22-14, cutting their double-digit deficit to six (53-47) heading into the final quarter of the game.

Looking to make a comeback, Murray State continued to close the gap in the score with a 5-4 run to pull within three (57-54) with 6:19 left in the game. TSU’s defense would hold off Murray State for the next four minutes of the quarter while tacking on four before forcing the Racers into their first timeout of the period at the 2:28 mark. Three Racer fouls in the remaining minutes of the game made way for an 8-4 run, pushing the Lady Tigers past the Racers with a 69-58 final score.

The Lady Tigers are back in action on Thursday as they begin their four-game road stretch against Tennessee Tech at 6:00 p.m in Cookeville, Tenn.

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COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION