FINAL STATS

Morehead, Ky. --- The Tennessee State University women's basketball team dropped an, 87-74, decision to Morehead State Wednesday night in Johnson Arena.

TSU (9-15, 4-10 OVC) trailed by nearly 30 points before pulling to within 13 in the fourth quarter. The Lady Tigers outscored the Eagles, 27-14, in the final frame but it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit.

Olivia Jones led TSU with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds while I'mani Davis scored 16. Maxine Beard finished the game with 10 points.

Morehead State (19-7, 9-4 OVC) had five players to score in double figures led by Miranda Crockett's 20 points. KayK Tate (16), Eriel McKee (13), Shay Steele (12) and Aaliyah Wells (10) also posted double-digits.

After one quarter of action, TSU trailed Morehead State, 20-14. The Lady Tigers committed 11 turnovers and shot 38.5 percent from the field in the opening stanza.

In the second period, Morehead State scored four quick points to grab a 10-point lead at the 8:26 mark.

TSU used a timeout in an attempt to slow the down the MSU rally.

The Lady Tigers scored on the next possession but the Eagles poured on 10 straight points to stretch their advantage to, 36-16.

Diamond Beatty connected in the paint to end nearly a four-minute scoring drought but the home team continued to roll. TSU was ultimately outscored, 29-14, in the second frame and went into the halftime break down, 49-28 

TSU struggled with the Morehead State press to start the third quarter and fell behind, 61-34, with less than four minutes ticked off the clock.

Heading into the final frame, the score was 73-47 in favor of the home team.

The Lady Tigers continued to fight and used a 16-5 run to cut the deficit down to 78-63 with a little over six minutes remaining.

Olivia Jones scored on three straight possessions to pull the Lady Tigers to within 14 with one minute remaining but time ran out on the comeback attempt.

TSU shot 45.7 percent from the field but struggled from three-point range only connecting on 1-of-12 attempts.

Tennessee State returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 18 for the final home game of the regular season against Eastern Kentucky. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m in the Gentry Center. 

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