NASHVILLE — Freshman Gia Adams nailed a half-court buzzer-beater to give the Tennessee State women's basketball team a 96-93 come-from-behind overtime victory over Tennessee Tech in the OVC opener at the Gentry Center on Thursday evening.
Adams reached another season-best with 23 points, which set the stage for an exciting finish-to-end regulation, and overtime. The Houston product found herself in a situation where all Gentry Center eyes were on her. Now how we got to this moment started with 15 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter as Kesha Brady knocked down a pair of free throws to put the Eagles ahead 86-81. On TSU's next possession, Adams drove the lane but got blocked by Anna Walker. On the inbounds, Alexis Pierce scored a layup to cut the deficit to three. This is where TSU's defense made its best stop of the night and forced a turnover in the defensive zone. Trailing by three, TSU needed a bucket to force overtime. Adams went up for a three-pointer as the clock hit zero, but she got fouled in the act of shooting. The game was on the line as she needed to hit all three from the charity stripe to keep her team alive. This is where the old basketball saying "Ice in your veins" came into play. Adams swished all three from the line and forced overtime.
Overtime was a see-saw battle as Tennessee Tech struck first. The Eagles took a 93-92 with 1:08 remaining after free throws by Mackenzie Coleman. TSU tied the game on a Sierra McCullough's second attempt a few seconds later. The final minute of the overtime saw three turnovers before TSU called timeout with 2.9 seconds remaining off a forced turnover by Adams. The point guard knew she barely had enough time to make a move and used two dribbles to launch an off-the-glass shot through the cylinder for TSU's first OVC win since Feb. 20, 2020, a 76-74 win over Eastern Kentucky.
The last time TSU scored in the 90s during a conference game was Feb. 8, 2020, a 96-81 win over Murray State. It was the second time this season Evans' crew reached 90+ points.
Aside from Adams' heroics, graduate student Tatyana Davis had a career-best 25 points in 33 minutes. Davis knocked down 11-of-15 from the field and was part of a second-half comeback as the Lady Tigers fell into a 27-18 deficit after the first quarter. The deficit was cut to two points at the break (40-38). The Eagles again opened up their lead after 30 minutes (68-58), but the comeback was revving up.
Pierce and Dominique Claytor also finished in double figures for the lady Tigers. Pierce had 16 points while Claytor added 15 points and seven steals.
The Lady Tigers forced 25 turnovers and capitalized with 33 points off turnovers.
Tennessee Tech was paced by Brady with 20 points and was one of five players in double figures for the Eagles.
TSU will put its 1-0 record in OVC play on the lien when it visits Morehead State on Saturday afternoon before returning home to face UT Martin on Jan. 6, 2022, a 1 p.m. tip.
