NEW ORLEANS, La. – Texas Southern's fourth-quarter comeback came up just short Thursday as the Lady Tigers fell 72-69 at New Orleans.
At UNO's Lakefront Arena, the Lady Tigers had two chances to tie the game in the final 10 seconds, but the Privateers defense prevailed each time.
Joyce Kennerson scored a team-high 22 points for the Lady Tigers (5-5), who saw their four-game winning streak snapped. Senior guard Kaitlyn Palmer added 20 points, which included a 5-for-11 showing from 3-point range; Palmer scored her 15 of her 20 points after halftime.
Randi Brown scored 25 points to lead New Orleans (4-7); the Privateers won their third consecutive contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Privateers led by as many as nine points midway through the final period, but a 6-0 TSU run, which included a 3-pointer by Palmer and a fast-break layup by Camille Mills, cut UNO's lead to 69-66 with a 1:45 remaining.
TSU came up empty-handed on the next two possessions, and UNO appeared to put the game out of reach when Brown converted a layup while getting fouled with 53 seconds showing on the clock. Brown made the subsequent free throw to give the Privateers a 72-66 lead.
On the next trip down the floor, Palmer knocked down her fourth 3-pointer of the half to cut the lead to three points with 45 seconds remaining. Needing a stop, the Lady Tigers than forced another UNO turnover with 18 seconds left to play.
TSU put the ball in Palmer's hands again, but the Privateers toughened their perimeter defense and her shot with five seconds left was well-guarded and off the mark. UNO's Shania Woods corralled the rebound, but was called for a travel, giving TSU another shot with 1.2 seconds remaining. This time, the inbound pass could not be caught cleanly, and UNO held on for the win.
NEXT UP:
The Lady Tigers will have a week off for the Christmas break before playing their final non-conference game of the year Thursday, Dec. 28, at Mississippi. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start, and will be shown on SEC Network+, the online streaming channel of the SEC Network.
KEY POINTS:
• The Lady Tigers fell down by 10 points in the third quarter, but regained the lead thanks to a 12-0 run. Palmer scored nine points during that run, knocking down consecutive 3-pointers and converting a layup and ensuing free throw.
• Mills scored a career-high 10 points for the Lady Tigers in addition to pulling in six rebounds.
• Kennerson tied her career high by handing out eight assists.
• Junior transfer Ashley Murray scored six points for the Lady Tigers on 3-of-4 shooting. The six points marked a Division I career-high for Murray, who played her freshman season at Iona in 2014-15.
• The Lady Tigers' four-game winning streak over teams from outside the Southwestern Athletic Conference was snapped. The last time TSU had won four such games in a row was 1988.
• Kennerson's scoring average fell to 26.1 points per game, one-tenth of a point per game lower than Ohio State's Kelsey Mitchell, who reclaimed the nation's scoring lead.
• Though New Orleans was only called for five fouls as a team in the second half, the Privateers shot only one more free throw in the game (14) than TSU. The difference was in the makes: UNO, the best free-throw shooting team in the Southland Conference, made 13 out of 14 attempts, good for a 92 percent showing. TSU sank only 69 percent (9 of 13) of its free throw attempts.
• The Lady Tigers fell to 2-1 against Southland Conference teams this season.
TWEET of the GAME:
12-0 for the Lady Tigers, and then a UNO turnover! Kaitlyn Palmer (@KayPEE_20) has scored the last nine points, including two 3-pointers in a row!
Lady Tigers now lead 44-42, and have the basketball after the 4:47 media timeout.
— TSU Lady Tigers Basketball (@TSUWomensHoops) December 22, 2017
Courtesy: TSU Athletics
At UNO's Lakefront Arena, the Lady Tigers had two chances to tie the game in the final 10 seconds, but the Privateers defense prevailed each time.
Joyce Kennerson scored a team-high 22 points for the Lady Tigers (5-5), who saw their four-game winning streak snapped. Senior guard Kaitlyn Palmer added 20 points, which included a 5-for-11 showing from 3-point range; Palmer scored her 15 of her 20 points after halftime.
Randi Brown scored 25 points to lead New Orleans (4-7); the Privateers won their third consecutive contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Privateers led by as many as nine points midway through the final period, but a 6-0 TSU run, which included a 3-pointer by Palmer and a fast-break layup by Camille Mills, cut UNO's lead to 69-66 with a 1:45 remaining.
TSU came up empty-handed on the next two possessions, and UNO appeared to put the game out of reach when Brown converted a layup while getting fouled with 53 seconds showing on the clock. Brown made the subsequent free throw to give the Privateers a 72-66 lead.
On the next trip down the floor, Palmer knocked down her fourth 3-pointer of the half to cut the lead to three points with 45 seconds remaining. Needing a stop, the Lady Tigers than forced another UNO turnover with 18 seconds left to play.
TSU put the ball in Palmer's hands again, but the Privateers toughened their perimeter defense and her shot with five seconds left was well-guarded and off the mark. UNO's Shania Woods corralled the rebound, but was called for a travel, giving TSU another shot with 1.2 seconds remaining. This time, the inbound pass could not be caught cleanly, and UNO held on for the win.
NEXT UP:
The Lady Tigers will have a week off for the Christmas break before playing their final non-conference game of the year Thursday, Dec. 28, at Mississippi. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start, and will be shown on SEC Network+, the online streaming channel of the SEC Network.
KEY POINTS:
• The Lady Tigers fell down by 10 points in the third quarter, but regained the lead thanks to a 12-0 run. Palmer scored nine points during that run, knocking down consecutive 3-pointers and converting a layup and ensuing free throw.
• Mills scored a career-high 10 points for the Lady Tigers in addition to pulling in six rebounds.
• Kennerson tied her career high by handing out eight assists.
• Junior transfer Ashley Murray scored six points for the Lady Tigers on 3-of-4 shooting. The six points marked a Division I career-high for Murray, who played her freshman season at Iona in 2014-15.
• The Lady Tigers' four-game winning streak over teams from outside the Southwestern Athletic Conference was snapped. The last time TSU had won four such games in a row was 1988.
• Kennerson's scoring average fell to 26.1 points per game, one-tenth of a point per game lower than Ohio State's Kelsey Mitchell, who reclaimed the nation's scoring lead.
• Though New Orleans was only called for five fouls as a team in the second half, the Privateers shot only one more free throw in the game (14) than TSU. The difference was in the makes: UNO, the best free-throw shooting team in the Southland Conference, made 13 out of 14 attempts, good for a 92 percent showing. TSU sank only 69 percent (9 of 13) of its free throw attempts.
• The Lady Tigers fell to 2-1 against Southland Conference teams this season.
TWEET of the GAME:
12-0 for the Lady Tigers, and then a UNO turnover! Kaitlyn Palmer (@KayPEE_20) has scored the last nine points, including two 3-pointers in a row!
Lady Tigers now lead 44-42, and have the basketball after the 4:47 media timeout.
— TSU Lady Tigers Basketball (@TSUWomensHoops) December 22, 2017
Courtesy: TSU Athletics