The Tennessee State Lady were able to force 23 SIUE turnovers as they were able to defeat the Cougars 77-58 Saturday afternoon.
Tennessee State scored first taking an early 2-0 lead on Lyric Cole’s jumper. SIUE would briefly tie the game on Brianna Woodbridge’s layup The Lady Tigers quickly reclaimed the advantage, a position they would enjoy for the majority of the period, going up by as much as 7 points. SIUE took their first lead of the period and game when Macy Silvey connected from downtown to put the Cougars up 14-13 with 1:13 left in the period; it was a lead that held for the duration of the frame.
The teams swapped the lead in the opening minutes of the second quarter. Tennessee State reclaimed the lead at 17-16 on Kiki Roberts’ jump hook at the 7:07 mark. SIUE tied the game at 22 and would stay out front until a Lyric Cole layup put the Lady Tigers back in front 27-26 with 2:36 left in the half. The game was tied once more, this time at 28 all, until Roberts’ layup as time expired gave the Lady Tigers a 30-28 halftime lead.
Tennessee State broke the game open in the third quarter, shooting 52.4% (11-21) from the field, as they outscored the Cougars 31-7 in the frame. SIUE, by comparison, shot 5-12 from the floor but shot themselves in the proverbial foot with 7 turnovers in the quarter. The Tigers took their first double-digit lead of the afternoon at 44-33 on Somah Kamara’s layup grew the lead to as much as 17 points, and took a 61-45 lead into the game’s last quarter.
Having largely wrested control of the matchup, the Lady Tigers never allowed the Cougars to get closer than 13 points and were able to cruise to a comfortable 77-58 lead.
Aaliyah Webb led four Lady Tigers in double figures with 21 points and also grabbed 8 rebounds. Saniah Parker scored 20 points and dished 7 assists. Somah Kamara added 18 points and Lyric Cole had a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds.
In a losing effort, KK Rodriguez led all Cougars scorers with 17 points; Brianna Woodridge was the only other SIUE player in double figures with 15 points.
The Lady Tigers (8-18, 4-12) continue their road trip Tuesday when they head to Martin, TN to tangle with the Skyhawks of UT Martin; tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 pm CST.
