image via Tennessee State Athletics
A rocky third quarter ended up being the Lady Tigers’ undoing as they fell 71-64 to Tennessee Tech.
After the game was tied early at 6 and 8 apiece, a 6-0 Tennessee State burst gave them a 14-8 lead with 2:59 left in the period. Tennessee Tech cut the deficit to 14-12 before buckets from Somah Kamara and Sanaa’ St. Andre pushed the Tigers’ lead to 18-12 heading into the second quarter.
The Lady Tigers came out on fire in the second quarter, connecting on 4 of their first 5 field goal attempts. This hot shooting was the catalyst for TSU building their largest lead of the game at 27-14. The Lady Tigers cooled off dramatically, converting just 2 of their last 8 shots over the remainder of the period, allowing Tennessee Tech to trim the lead to 33-30 at the half.
Unfortunately for Tennessee State, the halftime break did not the offense back on track. TSU had more turnovers, 5, than made field goals, 4, and was outscored 19-9 in the frame, turning their halftime lead into a 7-point deficit at 49-42 going into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Tigers started the quarter off with a 7-0 spurt to tie the game at 49 on Erin Martin’s jumper with 7:20 left in the game. Tennessee Tech reclaimed the lead and pushed the advantage to 5 points at 57-52. TSU would outscore TTU 7-2 over the ensuing 1:32 to tie the game at 59 on a Sanaa’ St. Andre jumper with 4:32 left in the contest. Tech would respond with a 10-0 burst that proved to be a decisive run of the game, as it gave them a 69-59 lead with 0:35 left in the game. A few window-dressing baskets from the Lady Tigers brought the game to its final count of 71-64.
Lyric Cole and Sanaa’ St. Andre led the Lady Tigers with 11 points each. XaiOnna Whitfield and Erin Martin contributed 10 points apiece.
Peyton Carter led four Tennessee Tech players in double figures with 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Anna Walker added 16 points and 8 rebounds; Keeley Carter added 14 points, while Reghan Grimes contributed 12 points and 9 rebounds.
Up next for the Lady Tigers (5-15, 1-9) is a meeting with Little Rock. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 pm CST.
