The Tuskegee women’s hoops team put on display why they were undefeated , 20-0 , in SIAC play this season as they put a 73-50 beating on Central State in the SIAC quarterfinals.
The Golden Tigers lead for all but 36-seconds in the opening 10 minutes, and the game, as after briefly tying the game at 2 on a pair of Laurene Tere free throws, Tuskegee went on an 8-0 run to take a 10-2 lead with 6:38 left in the opening period. The Marauders didn’t crack double figures until a Naomi Short three-pointer cut the lead to 14-10 with 1:19 left in the quarter.
Tuskegee, who took a 19-10 lead into the second quarter would blow the game open on the second 10 minutes of play, out scoring Central State 26-7. The Golden Tigers were able to force 11 CSU turnovers , which combined with the abysmal 2-10 the Maruaders shot in the quarter, allowed Tuskegee to build a 45-17 halftime lead.
Central State never got within 20 points in the second half, and shooting 33% and committing 11 turnovers in the second half did not help the Maruader comeback attempt. The Marauders coughed the ball up 26 times, which turned into 33 Golden Tiger points.
In a losing effort, Naomi Short was the leading scorer, putting in 12 points and handing out 5 assists; Kailyn Nash stuffed the stat sheet, not only scoring 10 points, but added 9 rebounds and 8 blocks.
JuToreyia Willis led the way for the Golden Tigers 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals to go along with her 27 points. Sumiyah Abdul-Rahim scored 12 points, while handing out 6 assists, grabbing 4 rebounds, and adding 4 steals; Ashiala Jackson added 10 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists.
Up next for the Golden Tigers is a semifinal matchup Friday at noon EST with the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal meeting between Savannah State and Edward Waters.
