After a Texas trip that included an 83-point obliteration to TCU and a 20-point defeat at the hands of UT-Arlington, the Tennessee State Lady Tigers were happy to get out of the Lone Star State and return to the friendly confines of the Gentry Center, where a meeting with North Alabama awaited them.
Led by Aaniya Webb’s 21 points, as well as timely defense, the Tennessee State Lady Tigers were able to defeat North Alabama 82-76 to notch their first win of the season.
The Lady Tigers shot 57.1% (8-14) in the first quarter. Buoyed by this efficient shooting, which included a perfect 6-6 from the foul line and only committing one turnover, TSU was able to build as much as an eight-point lead at 23-15 before a pair of UNA layups in the latter portion of the period trimmed the lead to 23-19 at the close of the quarter.
UNA continued to work from underneath in the second quarter and would tie the game at 29 and 34 apiece. Following the second tie, an 8-2 spurt put Tennessee State up 42-36 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Lady Tigers enjoyed a lead of as many as twelve points, with Xai Whitfield’s free throw making the score 48-36 at the 8:24 mark. However, UNA battled back and tied the game at 56 on Gabby Jackson’s layup with 2:12 left in the frame. Layups from Kaliyah Montoya and Aaniya Webb put the Lady Tigers up 60-56 as the third quarter faded into history.
North Alabama took its first lead since the first quarter on India Howard’s layup that made the score 70-69 with 5:23 remaining in the contest. UNA’s time in front was short-lived (24 seconds to be precise) as Montoya’s layup put the LadybTigers back in the lead, 71-70. North Alabama tied the game at 73 on a pair of Alexsandra Alvarado free throws. Sadie Sanchez’s jump shot put Tennessee State back up 75-73 for good with 1:33 left in the contest, as the Lady Tigers outscored UNA 7-3 the rest of the way to claim an 82-76 victory.
In addition to Webb’s 21 points, three other Lady Tigers cracked double figures. Freshman guard Sadie Sanchez, who made her collegiate debut, scored 15 points. Somah Kamara also put in 15 points of her own and Kaliyah Montoya added 14 points.
With the first win of the season finally under their belts, their path to run their win streak to 2 won’t be easy as TSU faces off with Vanderbilt on November 23. Tip-off is scheduled for noon CST. When the two teams last met on November 25, 2019, Vanderbilt decimated Tennessee State 106-55.
