FINAL BOX

NASHVILLE, Tenn.- The Tennessee State women's basketball team extended their winning steak to three with a 66-58 win over Austin Peay on Thursday night in the Gentry Center.

TSU led by as many as 16, but suffered through a scoring drought that threatened an Austin Peay comeback. The Lady Tigers used a late run in the fourth to make a comeback of their own before giving the Governors their first conference loss of the season. 

The Lady Tigers (8-9, 3-1 OVC) had three players shoot in double-digits. Senior Brianna Lawrence led the team with 16, followed by junior I'mani Davis with 15 and junior Jayda Johnson with 14.

Austin Peay (5-12, 3-1 OVC) had two players hit double-digits and was led by Tiasha Gray with 14.

In a high-scoring first quarter, the Lady Tigers hopped on the board first with a layup from Lawrence. TSU held Austin Peay off until the 7:56 mark when the Governors sank a three-pointer to take an early 3-2 lead. Strong defense initiated APSU turnovers, allowing the Lady Tigers to outscore the Governors 8-2 before forcing Austin Peay into its first timeout at the 5:43 mark. 

Leading 10-5, the Lady Tigers kept the pressure on by answering every Austin Peay bucket with one of their own. In a 13-13 run, I'mani Davis scored 11, including back-to-back 3's, keeping TSU ahead by three (23-20) heading into the second.

A Lady Tiger foul opened up the second, allowing the Governors to cut their deficit to one after sinking two from the line. Johnson answered with a shot from inside the paint to propel a 15-5 run which would give the Lady Tigers a ten-point lead, 36-26, with 2:20 left in the quarter. Two free throws from Austin Peay and a layup from Lawrence would finish the half, TSU leading 38-28. 

Tennessee State outscored the Governors 10-4 in the opening minutes of the third to extend its lead, 48-32, before the media timeout. With five minutes remaining, the Governors took advantage of TSU fouls and turnovers, outscoring the Lady Tigers 17-4 and cutting their 16-point deficit to just three (52-29) before heading into the final quarter. 

Austin Peay continued their scoring streak, opening up the fourth with a layup to put them within a point of TSU. Lady Tiger turnovers and 3-pointer would allow the Governors to take their first lead of the night (56-54) at the 7:02 mark. Another bucket from the Govs would put the Lady Tigers down by four, their largest deficit of the night. APSU fouls would give the Lady Tigers a chance to eat away at the deficit. TSU went 3-4 from the line, closing the gap in the score but still trailing the Governors by one. TSU would take back the lead with a layup from Johnson and keep the Governors scoreless for the remaining minutes of the game while tacking on seven more for a 66-58 lead before the final buzzer.

The Lady Tigers are back in action on Saturday as they close out their three-game homestand with a conference game against Murray State at 5:30 in the Gentry Center.

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