TSU Lady Tigers Dominate Eastern Illinois in 86-68 Win

FINAL BOX | PHOTO GALLERY

Final Score: Tennessee State 86 – Eastern Illinois 68
Records: TSU (4-15, 2-8 OVC) – Eastern Illinois (2-19, 1-9 OVC)
Venue: Gentry Center
Location: Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tenn. --- The Tennessee State University women’s basketball team used a strong third quarter to pull away in an, 86-68, victory over Eastern Illinois Saturday night in the Gentry Center.

The win snapped a five game losing skid for Tennessee State (4-15, 2-8 OVC) while Eastern Illinois fell to 2-19, 1-9 OVC.

Tia Wooten and Taylor Roberts led the Lady Tigers with 18 points each while Kaliya Griffin added 15. Wooten just missed a double-double with nine rebounds.

EIU was paced by Karle Pace’s 31 points as Danielle Berry also reached double-digits with 10 points.

TSU outscored EIU, 24-11, in the third quarter and led by as many as 26 points in the victory. The Lady Tigers also made a season-high nine three-pointers in the contest.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• TSU Leaders
• Points: Taylor Roberts and Tia Wooten – 18
• Rebounds: Tia Wooten - 9
• Assists: Taylor Williams – 5
• Steals: Taylor Roberts - 3
• Kaliya Griffin also scored in double-digits with 15 points.
• TSU dished out 21 assists and five blocks in the game.
• TSU shot 52.9 percent from three-point range.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• TSU was down 9-8 when a three-pointer by Kaliya Griffin sparked a 9-0 run that put the Lady Tigers on top, 17-9.
• The Lady Tigers shot 67 percent from the field in the first quarter and led 21-16 heading into the second frame.
• EIU cut the deficit down to four points before another rally fueled by two more triples from Griffin extended TSU’s advantage to, 32-24.
• At the half, TSU held a 45-37 lead.
• TSU opened the third quarter by outscoring EIU, 7-2, and moved ahead 52-39.
• The Lady Tigers scored on their next four possessions and increased the advantage to, 60-41, when Maxine Beard connected in the paint after a dazzling spin move.
• EIU used a timeout when TSU grabbed its largest lead of the game, 68-43, behind a Taylor Williams three-pointer.
• TSU went scoreless for the last 2:24 of the quarter but still carried a 69-48 cushion into the final stanza.
• The Panthers outscored the Lady Tigers 12-7 to start the fourth closed the gap to, 76-60.
• Despite going without a field goal for an extended period, the Lady Tigers kept the opponents at bay.

GAME NOTES

• TSU shot 75 percent (6-of-8) from three-point range in the first quarter.
• TSU snapped a five-game losing streak.
• Tia Wooten scored in double-digits for the 19th consecutive game.
• Kaliya Griffin went 4-of-4 from long range in the opening period.
• Tia Wooten just missed her 8th double-double of the season with 18 points and nine rebounds.
• TSU picked up its second league win of the season.
• TSU is 1-1 versus EIU this season.
• Kaliya Griffin posted double-digits for the third time in four games.
• Taylor Roberts scored in double-figures for the third consecutive game.

QUOTES
Head Coach Jessica Kern

“This was a great team win. I am absolutely elated for the ladies and not because we are in the win column, but because we really needed to be validated and I think we got validated tonight. It was a great team effort. Everybody touched the ball, shared the ball, so it was great to see them have fun tonight.”
-Overview of the game

“We’re trying to practice consistency, so we had benchmarks. Every girl had a number going into the game. Your number could have been rebounds and steals, and at halftime they had accountability partners. Our redshirts were their accountability partners seeing where they were on their benchmark. We had a goal per quarter. 90 points was the goal for this game. If we hit those quarterly marks, we knew coming out strong in the game, we’d have a shot at it. It’s just fun to watch this kids have fun, and the energy in the locker room right now will carry you into a win.”
-On breakdown of game

“We’re always an attack first team, so how nice is it that our outside shooters are getting shots. Taylor Williams to Kaliya Griffin had three-of-four of her assists on swings to Kaliya for a three-point shot. When you can open up both sides of the court, it makes it easy for the girls in the middle.”
-On shooting 52 percent from the perimeter

“First game we put them all together. First game we put all four quarters together. The third quarter had been an achilles heel, first quarter has been an achilles heel. We’d spend a lot of time in-between games, on-court stuff, angles, walking through in scout, and more or less fixing us, no what people are doing to us, but fixing what we’re doing to ourselves.”
-On playing through all four quarters

“I told my freshmen in the locker room, I will give you a chance every single game to show me what you can do. We gave them a stat, if you play 40 total minutes of the game, the game will be in your hands about 4 total minutes, how relevant can you be when the ball is in your hands. And the freshmen showed me, some were ready to go, some were not.”
-On five freshmen in at one time

UP NEXT

• TSU returns to the road for the “Death Valley” swing beginning with a matchup at Morehead State on Thursday, Feb. 1. Game time is set for 5:15 p.m. ET (4:15 CT).

TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS