Lady Tigers turn away Alcorn State for fifth consecutive win
At TSU’s H&PE Arena, Niya Mitchell scored 20 points and pulled in 15 rebounds to lead the Lady Tigers (15-13, 11-6 SWAC); she also handed out five assists and recorded five steals.
Richelle Velez added 13 points and Olivia Cunningham chipped in 11 points off the bench for the Lady Tigers. Marquia Turner scored eight points and handed out seven assists for TSU.
De’Asia Brown scored 19 points to lead Alcorn State (4-25, 3-14 SWAC).
With the win, the Lady Tigers remained in a three-way tie for third place in the SWAC standings with Grambling State and Jackson State.
The Lady Tigers led from start to finish en route to their fifth consecutive victory. TSU scored eight unanswered points to take a 12-4 lead midway through the first quarter.
Texas Southern led by as many 19 points late in the third quarter, but Alcorn State responded by scoring the last nine points of the period over a two-minute span. The Lady Tigers led 47-37 at the end of three periods.
While Alcorn State cut TSU’s lead in half at the end of the third quarter, the Lady Tigers rebuilt it just as quickly to start the fourth period. TSU scored the first nine points of the quarter to reclaim a 56-37 lead with 7:24 remaining in the game. The Lady Braves would get no closer than 13 points the rest of the game.
The top defense in the SWAC, Texas Southern held its opponent under its season average of 59.7 points allowed for the fifth consecutive game. The Lady Tigers held Alcorn State to 30 percent shooting (20 of 67) from the floor.
Meanwhile, the Lady Tigers shot 44 percent (23 of 52) from the floor. They shot 50 percent (14 of 28) from the field as they were pulling away from the Lady Braves in the first half.
The Lady Tigers conclude the regular season Saturday when they host first-place Southern at H&PE Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Courtesy: TSUSports.com
