TSU Lady Tigers Go Down to the Wire in Loss to Redhawks

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Missouri -- In a hard fought battle that went down to the wire, the Tennessee State University women’s basketball team fell to Southeast Missouri, 71-66, Saturday afternoon in the Show Me Center.

Tennessee State trailed by 13 points but continued to battle the entire night. The Lady Tigers erased the double-digit deficit and tied the game with seconds remaining and had an opportunity to force overtime but the Redhawks made crucial free-throws down the stretch to keep TSU at bay.

Tia Wooten led TSU with 30 points to go with eight rebounds while Jaden Wrightsell recorded a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds in her first career start. Maxine Beard and Kaliya Griffin were just shy of double-digits with nine points each.

SEMO had four players to score in double-digits led by Tesia Thompson’s 23 points.



FINAL BOX

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• TSU Leaders
  • Points: Tia Wooten - 30
  • Rebounds: Jaden Wrightsell - 10
  • Assists: Maxine Beard - 4
  • Steals: Maxine Beard - 5
• TSU outrebounded SEMO, 38-33 but the Redhawks held the advantage in points in the paint, 36-18, and bench points, 25-11.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Despite shooting 57.1 percent from the field to start the game, TSU trailed 13-8 at the first media timeout.
• TSU used four unanswered points to pull within two points but went without a field goal for the next 2:39 and trailed 23-18 at the 5:51 mark of the second quarter.
• A bucket by Maxine Beard ended a nearly five-minute scoring drought but TSU only managed to post one more field goal the rest of the period.
• The Lady Tigers trailed, 31-22, at halftime.
• TSU opened the second frame by outscoring SEMO 6-1 and pulled within four.
• The Redhawks responded with five unanswered and increased the advantage to 37-29 with 4:42 left in the third.
• TSU once again rallied to within four but SEMO answered with a spurt that stretched the lead to double-digits.
• With 6:19 remaining, Kaliya Griffin knocked down a three-pointer to pull TSU within six.
• SEMO managed to recapture an 11-point lead but the TSU continued to fight and cut the deficit down to five points with 2:12 remaining.
• Back-to-back triples from Williams and Griffin made the score, 66-64, with 52.4 left.
• On TSU’s next possession, Tia Wooten connected in the paint to tie the game at 66-all.
• SEMO answered on its trip down the court and took the lead, 68-66, with 33.5 remaining.
• Trailing by three and with 12.7 seconds left, TSU had a chance to tie the game but an untimely turnover gave the ball back to SEMO.
• The Redhawks made two free-throws to put the game out of reach.

GAME NOTES

• Jaden Wrightsell got her first start of the season vs SEMO.
• After scoring 12 points in the opening quarter, Tia Wooten was held to only two points in the second period. She finished the game with 30.
• TSU shot 70 percent from the field in the first quarter but the offense struggled in the second period, only connecting 28.6 percent of its attempts (4-of-12).
• TSU dropped its third straight versus SEMO.
• Tia Wooten scored 30 points for the second time this season as the posted 33 at Memphis.

QUOTES

Head Coach Jessica Kern

“A tough fought night. Its getting difficult to talk about because the kids played so hard. A lot of time you talk to coaches and they feel like they’re not getting the full effort from the team. We’re getting full effort. Two things we need to work on: turnovers and execution. We’re going to keep learning, we’re going to keep getting better. The great part is we get to go back home and it would be great to go back home and get our first OVC win.”

- Overall thoughts on the game

“First of all lets go to Tia Wooten. 30 points. Look at how much her character is growing. No complaining, no extra, simply yes coach. And that’s, to me, the signs of a true leader. Jaden Wrightsell didn’t have any reservations about being tired or anything of that nature. She’s a beast on the glass. She had a double-double in her second game back. Fantastic to see her (playing), she’s in great spirits.”

- On Jaden Wrightsell’s contribution

“Eventually they’re going to be so angry at this feeling that they get to the point where we turn the corner. And that means playing a disciplined game. There’s not a single kid in that locker room that doesn’t want that win. We’re not so concerned with our overall record, we’re more concerned about our quality of play. Once we turn that corner, we’re going to be that team, in February, that nobody wants to play.”

- On moving forward

UP NEXT

• TSU returns to action on Jan. 4 at home versus Jacksonville State. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. in Gentry Center.

TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS