FINAL BOX
NASHVILLE --- After trailing by as many as 20 points and cutting the deficit to single digits, the Tennessee State women's basketball fell to Belmont, 70-60, Saturday night in the Gentry Center.
The second quarter proved to be the difference as TSU (8-11, 3-6 OVC) was outscored 19-7 in the frame. Jayda Johnson led the Lady Tigers in scoring with 16 points while I'mani Davis added 12.
Belmont (17-5, 9-0 OVC) remained undefeated in league play and had four players score in double-digits led by Darby Maggard's 14 points. Lauren Thompson (13), Jenny Roy (12) and Kylee Smith (10) also registered double figures.
TSU was trailing 9-7 at the first media timeout but fell behind 16-7 after a 7-0 spurt by Belmont. At the 1:16 mark, Jayda Johnson blew by her defender and scored in the paint to end nearly a five-minute scoring drought.
That bucket sparked a rally that pulled the Lady Tigers to within three, 16-13, just before the first quarter ended.
Belmont opened the second period with seven unanswered points to go up, 23-13. With just under four minutes left on the clock, Belmont stretched its advantage to 33-18, following a three-pointer and two made free-throws. TSU was outscored 19-7 in the frame and went into halftime trailing, 35-20.
In the third stanza, Belmont continued to control the tempo and moved ahead, 43-23, after three minutes of action.
TSU continued to fight and closed the gap to, 53-39, following a spurt by the Lady Tigers that included five points off the bench from Tariana Carter.
The Lady Tigers cut the deficit down to 12 points heading into the final frame.
With just over five minutes remaining in the game, TSU sliced BU's advantage down to single digits, 58-50, following a steal by Carter and layup by Olivia Jones. The Lady Tigers managed to pull within eight once again but that would be as close as they would get.
TSU shot 39.3 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from three-point range while Belmont knocked down 47.1 percent of its attempts from the field and 31.8 percent from beyond the arc.
The Lady Tigers lost the battle of the boards 36-29 and committed 14 turnovers in the contest.
Tennessee State returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at home versus Eastern Illinois. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. in the Gentry Center.
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