Image via Tennessee State Women’s Basketball /IG
Poor shooting and turnovers proved to be the Tennessee State Lady Tigers’ undoing, they once again tasted defeat, this time at the hands of UT-Arlington, 78-58.
Tennessee State shot just 35.2%(19-54) from the field and just 23.1% (3-13) from downtown. The Lady Tigers also did themselves no favors at the free-throw line, shooting just 17-30 from the charity stripe and committing 23 turnovers, which turned into 18 UT-Arlington points.
Early on, TSU enjoyed brief leads of 2-0, 5-4, and 7-6. Nya Threatt’s layup put the Lady Mavericks up 8-7 at the 6:40 mark of the opening period. UT-Arlington outscored TSU 14-5 over the remainder of the period to take a 22-12 lead heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter was an offensive struggle for the Lady Tigers. TSU scored just 8 points, shooting 27.3% (3-11), missing all 3 of their attempts from downtown and only converting 2 of their 4 free throw attempts. UTA, who shot 50% from the field (6-12) and from three (1-2) were able to build as much as a 21-point advantage and ultimately took a 39-20 lead into intermission.
The Lady Tigers, try as they might, made little headway in the third period, only drawing to within 16 on 3 occasions – on a Somah Kamara free throw that made the score 39-23, Xai Whitfield’s turnaround j that brought the count to 41-25 and at the close of the period on a Kiki Roberts free throw that made the score 57-41.
Aaniya Webb’s driving layup cut the lead to 61-48 at the 5:37 mark of the 4th quarter. However, the Lady Tigers would draw no closer. A 12-5 UTA spurt pushed the lead to 20 points, and that would ultimately be the final margin of victory.
In a losing effort, Somah Kamara led the Lady Tigers with a season high 22 points; Aaniya Webb was the only other TSU player to crack double figures with 12 points.
Nya Threatt led four UTA players in double figures with 21 points; Kali Haizlip added 16, Mila Reynolds put in 13 points of her own and Jadyn Atchison chipped in 10 points.
Tennessee State (0-4. 0-0) returns to action November 19, when they will host North Alabama. TSU defeated UNA 83-71 in their last meeting, November 23, 2021.
