It was a rough outing for the Tennessee State Lady Tigers basketball team as Western Illinois put the proverbial boots to their rumps to the tune of a 71-45 beating.
Although TSU was able to limit the Lady Panthers to 13 points on just 29.4% (5-17) shooting, the Lady Tigers’ offense was even more putrid scoring just 6 points on a frigid 13.3% (2-15) from the field.
After Genesis Harris knocked down a three-pointer to pull the Lady Tigers to within six at 15-9 the EIU went on a 9-0 run that pushed their advantage to 24-9 at the 6:47 mark of the second quarter. Aaniya Webb’s layup trimmed the Panther lead to 29-20 and EIU responded with an 11-0 burst that doubled up TSU and pushed their lead to 40-20. The teams would exchange baskets over the quarter’s final 0:29 and Eastern took a 42-22 halftime lead as they shot a blistering 70.6% (12-17) in the frame.
TSU was able to corral the Eastern Illinois offense in the third quarter, holding the Lady Panthers to just 38.5 %. However, the 7 turnovers the Lady Tigers committed retarded any comeback efforts and allowed EIU to build their lead to 61-36 heading into the fourth quarter.
The game’s final turned into protracted garbage time, with Tennessee State never closing the gap to any less than 22 points. In comparison, EIU was able to expand its advantage to as much as 28 points and went on to a comfortable 71-45 victory.
Aaniya Webb scored 11 points and was the lone Lady Tigers in double figures. No TSU player who attempted more than 1 field goal, shot better than 42.9% from the floor.
Tennessee State (2-13), now on a four-game skid, will return to action on January 15 against Morehead State. Tip-off is scheduled for 10 am cst.
