Nashville --- The Tennessee State University women’s basketball team extended its home winning streak to six games Saturday night with a 56-52 win over Austin Peay in the Gentry Center.

 

Tiffany Jackson led Tennessee State (9-9, 5-2 OVC) in scoring with 15 points. Nikki Rumph came off the bench to score 12 points while Kendra Appling added 11.

 

Austin Peay (8-10, 4-3 OVC) was led by April Thomas’ 16 points and 12 rebounds.

 

In a low scoring and tightly played first half, neither team was able to build more than a four point lead. TSU carried a slight 25-23 advantage into the break.

 

Kendra Appling christened the second half with a triple from the top of the key to push TSU’s advantage to 28-23. The Lady Govs, however, responded with a 5-0 run to go ahead 33-28.

 

A lay-up by Tiffany Jackson ended nearly a three-minute Lady Tiger scoring drought and brought the score to 33-30 at the 14:52 mark.

 

With the Lady Tigers trailing 31-35, a jumper by Kendra Appling sparked a 10-0 run that gave TSU a 45-31 lead. APSU slowly climbed from behind and tied the game 43-43 with 6:29 on the clock.

 

Neither team would let up as both teams battled down the stretch.

 

With 11 seconds left on the clock and TSU holding a slight 54-52 lead, Meredith Stafford knocked down two crucial free-throws to ice the game. 

 

Tennessee State shot 42.1% from the field while Austin Peay shot 45.7%. Neither team shot well from beyond the arc as APSU shot a dismal 10.0 % (1-of-10) and TSU shot 25.0% (3-of-12). The Lady Tigers committed 20 turnovers but forced the Lady Govs into 24 miscues.

 

The Lady Tigers return to action on Thursday night against Jacksonville State for the second contest of a three-game home stand. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the Gentry Center.