Nashville, Tenn. --- The Tennessee State University women's basketball team gave
up 16 offensive rebounds in a, 78-66, loss to Tennessee Tech Saturday night in
the Gentry Center.
Tennessee State (8-18, 4-10 OVC) was led in scoring by
Jasmin Shuler's 14 points while Simone Hopes added 11.
Tennessee Tech (13-14, 9-4 OVC) had three players to post
double-digits led by Jala Harris with 26. Tacarra Hayes followed with 19 while
Bariana Jordan tallied 12.
In the opening half, Kim Haynes knocked down a three-pointer
from the corner to give TSU a, 7-2, lead just before the first media timeout.
Jasmin Shuler hit a jumper to make the advantage, 9-2, before TTU used a 5-0
run to pull within two.
A bucket by Simone Hopes sparked a rally that put the Lady
Tigers on top, 18-9, but the Golden Eagles answered with an 8-0 run to cut the
deficit down to just one.
With about eight minutes left in the half, Kesi Hess and
Jasmin Shuler hit back-to-back triples to make the score, 24-17, in favor of
the home team. The Lady Tigers, however, would not score over the next four
minutes as Tech reeled off 16 straight points to take the lead, 33-24.
At the 4:10 mark, Avery Jones connected in the paint to finally
end the skid for Tennessee State. The bucket was the beginning of a 7-0 run
that pulled TSU within two, 33-31. The Lady Tigers fell behind, 36-31, before
going into the half trailing, 36-33.
Simone Hopes christened the second frame with a score in the
paint before a steal and lay-up by Tanesha Stenson put the Lady Tigers back on
top, 37-36. On the next possession, Alana Morris found Stenson on a fast-break
to make TSU's lead, 39-36, and force a Tech timeout.
An old-fashioned three-point play by Avery Jones gave TSU a,
46-40, lead before six straight from the visitors even the score at 46-all.
Over the next several possessions the teams traded buckets
as neither squad was able to build more than a two-point lead. At the 10:38
mark, Kesi Hess buried a triple to give the Lady Tigers a slight, 56-52, advantage
but the Golden Eagles answered right back to take the lead, 57-56.
TSU called a timeout after TTU used four more points to
move ahead, 61-56, with 6:42 on the clock. Out of the break, however, the Golden
Eagles scored a couple of quick buckets to stretch their advantage to double-digit,
66-56, with 6:09 left.
Donyeah Mayfield ended the scoring drought for TSU with a
lay-up in the paint before Rachel Allen drove to the basket to cut the deficit
down to six. Tech stretched its
advantage to, 69-60, following a three-pointer after an offensive rebound.
TSU chopped the deficit down to six but Tech hit a couple of
free-throws to go back up, 71-64. The Lady Tigers cut it to five but a triple
by Rachel Glidden as the shot clock nearly expired pushed the Golden Eagle lead
to, 74-66, with just under a minute left to play.
TSU ran out of time as TTU held on to win, 78-66.
Tennessee State shot 43.1 percent (25-of-58) from the field,
including 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from long range while knocking down only 47.4
percent (9-of-19) from the free-throw line.
Tennessee Tech went 28-of-67 (41.8 percent) from the field
and 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) from beyond the arc. The Golden Eagles hit 78.3
percent (18-of-23) of their free-throw attempts.
TTU outrebounded TSU, 50-32, in the game.
