Final Score: Tennessee State 45 – Eastern Illinois 62
Records: TSU (0-15, 0-13 OVC) EIU (9-10, 7-7 OVC)
Arena: Lantz Arena
Location: Charleston, Ill.
FINAL STATS
Charleston, Ill. --- Despite a solid effort, the Tennessee State University women's basketball team fell to Eastern Illinois, 62-45, Saturday afternoon in Lantz Arena.
The game was a closely contested battle for much of the afternoon but an untimely scoring drought in the third quarter proved to be the difference.
It was a one-point game midway through the third period when the Lady Tiger offense started to struggle. TSU got outscored, 14-0, and fell behind 46-31 heading into the final ten minutes of action.
TSU fell behind by as many as 21 points but continued to fight and cut the deficit down to 12 in the fourth quarter. The opponents, however, were able to keep the Lady Tigers at bay.
Jaden Wrightsell led TSU with a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Andreana Wrister finished with 13 points and
Breannah McCullah tallied 10.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
HOW IT HAPPENED
- TSU fell behind 7-0 before outscoring EIU 6-3 to pull within four.
- At the end of the first period, the score was 15-11 in favor of EIU.
- The Lady Tigers made it a two-point game when Jaden Wrightsell scored on the opening possession of the second quarter.
- TSU continued to battle, using its defensive pressure to create turnovers and pulled to within one just before the media timeout.
- The score was, 26-23, in favor of Eastern Illinois at halftime.
- The first few possessions of the game were empty for both teams until Andreana Wrister connected on a floater to put TSU on the board.
- It was a one point game once again but only briefly as EIU answered with three-pointers on the next two trips down the floor.
- Down, 32-25, TSU used a timeout to regroup.
- Out of the break, Wrister kicked it out to Amber Appiah-Kubi who sank her second triple of the game.
- TSU got a stop on the other end before an old fashioned three-point play by Jaden Wrighstell once again pulled the Lady Tigers to within one.
- Over the next few possessions, untimely turnovers and missed shots led to EIU scoring six straight points to go back up, 38-31.
- The Lady Tigers used another timeout when the Panther lead increased to 40-31.
- TSU went scoreless the last five minutes of the third quarter and EIU used a 14-0 run to capture a 46-31 advantage.
- Tennessee State struggled to get back on track and deficit ballooned to, 52-31 with about eight minutes remaining.
- Andreana Wrister ended TSU's scoring drought with a three-pointer and sparked a rally that cut the deficit down to 12 with 4:24 remaining.
- That would be as close as the Lady Tigers would get.
QUOTE
"I was telling the team in the locker room, you can't be hungry you have to be starving. You can't just be satisfied cutting it close because teams are going to make a run…and you have to be able to answer that run. And that's something that we have to learn. Like I've said countless times, It's a process."
- Head Coach
Ty Evans
GAME NOTES
- Wrister scored in double-digits for the 13thtime this season.
- Jaden Wrightsell now has 592 total rebounds and ranks 11thon TSU's all-time leading rebounders list.
- Jaden Wrightsell posted her third double-double of the season.
UP NEXT
- TSU will return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at Austin Peay. Game time is slated for noon in the Dunn Center.
#BigBlueRising
