Nashville --- Three Lady Tigers scored in double digits and Tennessee State shot nearly 50 percent from three-point range in Friday night’s 98-82 loss to SEC member Vanderbilt in Memorial Coliseum.

 

Kendra Appling connected on six 3-pointers for the night and finished the game with a team-high 24 points. Tiffany Jackson knocked down 12-of-13 from the charity stripe and tallied 22 points while Jasmine Smith posted 16 points in her season debut.

 

After falling behind 5-0 early in the game, Jasmine Smith scored her first points of the season, a 3-pointer from the top of the key, to put TSU on the board. Tiffany Jackson found the basket to tie the game 5-5 before Vandy used two free-throws to go back on top 7-5.

 

TSU grabbed an 8-7 lead after Kendra Appling nailed a triple from the corner but the advantage would be short lived. VU then scored nine unanswered points over the next four minutes to go ahead 16-8.

 

TSU fell behind 31-17 with 7:11 to play in the half but cut the deficit down to 33-22 at the 5:21 mark on a lay-up from Jasmine Smith. The Commodores, however, used a 19-2 scoring run to close out the half and carry a commanding 51-24 lead into the break.

 

Nikki Rumph christened the second half with a 10-footer from the baseline before Vandy responded with an 18-8 run over the next five minutes to open the lead up to 69-34, its largest lead of the game.

 

The Lady Tigers continued to fight and cut the Commodore advantage down to 20 points (89-69) with a 4:29 left to play.

 

TSU cut the deficit down to 18 points four times before two made free-throws by Tiffany Jackson brought the score to 98-82.

 

Tennessee State (4-8) shot 47.4 percent from beyond the arc and outscored Vanderbilt (9-2) 58-47 in the second half. TSU lost the battle of the boards 37-24 and committed 24 turnovers in the game.

 

The Lady Tigers will play their final game of 2008 when they host Grambling on Tuesday, Dec. 30 in the Gentry Center.