Strong second half vaults Lady Tigers to 68-50 win at Mississippi Valley State

ITTA BENA, Miss. – The Lady Tigers of Texas Southern University pulled away from Mississippi Valley State in the third quarter Monday and cruised to a 68-50 win over the host Devilettes.
 
TSU’s Olivia Cunningham scored a season-high 20 points and teammate Niya Mitchell recorded her fifth double-double of the season, scoring 19 points and 14 rebounds.
 
The Lady Tigers (8-10) improved to 4-3 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play with the victory. They open a three-game homestand Saturday when they host Alabama State; tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
 
TSU used a 14-2 run over an eight-minute span in the third quarter to pull away from the Devilettes. After Valley’s Desiray Mosley tied the game with a 3-pointer with 8:53 left in the third quarter, TSU held the Devilettes scoreless for five minutes as the Lady Tigers scored eight unanswered points; Mitchell accounted for six of those points during the run that put TSU ahead 42-34.
 
Valley finally responded with a basket with 3:33 showing on the third-quarter clock. That was followed by the Lady Tigers scoring another six unanswered points to stretch their lead to 48-36 with 1:28 left to play in the period.
 
The Lady Tigers took a 48-39 lead into the fourth quarter, and scored the first nine points of the period to take their largest lead of the game at 57-39. The 18-point difference would also be the final margin of victory.
 
By the end of the second half, the Lady Tigers had held Valley to 19 percent (5 of 26) from the floor. The Lady Tigers shot 42 percent (11 of 26) from the floor after halftime, and 46 percent (23 of 50) for the game.
 
Richelle Velez scored seven points for the Lady Tigers. Isis Lane scored four points to go along with 10 rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots.
 
Mosley led Mississippi Valley State (3-15, 2-5 SWAC) with 14 points.