NASHVILLE — After trailing by as many as 21 midway through the second quarter, the Tennessee State women's basketball team made a ferocious comeback in the second half and nearly pulled off the upset but fell to Mercer 71-70 in overtime on Sunday afternoon.
Saniah Parker led the team with 16 points and eight rebounds in 36 minutes. Alexis Pierce and Gia Adams each had 15 points with Pierce pulling down seven rebounds and dishing six assists. Tatyana Davis added 14 points and six boards.
Playing without Dominique Claytor and Sierra McCullough due to injuries, the Tigers fell into an early ditch and trailed 24-2 with 2:16 left in the opening quarter. the Bears ended the quarter up 27-7.
TSU battled back in the second quarter as Parker cut the deficit to 14 (31-17) with 6:16 left to play. the Tigers started to gain momentum in the final minutes of the period but still trailed by 19 (40-21) at the turn.
The Lady Tigers used a 12-1 run to start the half and trailed 41-31 after a three-pointer by Adams with 7:45 remaining in the third. A big defensive stop by Pierce allowed her to capitalize on her own with a layup to push the difference within single digits. From the point, TSU was in the driver's seats the rest of the period even though they trailed by 10 (50-40).
Led by a high-energy bench, the Lady Tigers battled from a 13-point deficit with 7:20 left to play with a 10-1 run as Kianni Westbrook sprung into action inside the paint with a pair of big under the basket layups.
After a missed jumper by Mercer's Jaron Dougherty and a rebound by Elsie Harden, it was Parker who drilled a triple from the top of the key to put the Lady Tigers within one point 59-58 with 1:29 left.
In the final minute, Amoria Neal-Tysor scored for the Bears before Adams hit a pair of free throws, and then Harden gave the Lady Tigers a one-point lead (62-61) with 17 seconds left.
With TSU holding the short lead, Parker was called for a foul that saw Endia Banks head to the line with a chance to win the game for her squad. Banks made one-of-two from the charity stripe and re-tied the game at 62-all.
Tennessee State had its chance to win the game with Adams inbounding the ball under the basket. The rookie used the back of her defender to try a last-second layup, but the ball ringed out to send the contest to an extra period.
In the final five minutes of play, Mercer took a three-point lead (65-62) but a 4-0 run by the Lady Tigers gave them their second lead in the later stages of the contest. Mercer regained the lead twice with Dougherty and Titus showing their skills down low. Trailing by three (71-68), TSU had the final shot but settled for a layup after two missed triples that would have kept the game alive.
The Lady Tigers are back in action next Sunday at home to face Kansas City at 1 p.m.
