HOUSTON – The Lady Tigers of Texas Southern University are still searching for their first win of the 2017-18 season after falling 70-56 to Texas State on Tuesday.
Junior guard Joyce Kennerson scored a career-high 33 points and moved up two places on Texas Southern's all-time scoring list, but it was not enough to prevent the visiting Bobcats from picking up their third consecutive victory.
Texas State scored the first eight points of the second quarter to take a 29-20 lead and would not give up its advantage for the rest of the contest. The Lady Tigers (0-3) would respond to the 8-0 outburst by scoring the next six on a pair of Kennerson baskets and a layup by Artavia Ford, but Texas State would rebuild its lead back to 10 points by halftime.
Toshua Leavitt led a trio of Bobcats with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Taeler Deer added 15 points and Brooke Holle chipped in 13 for Texas State (3-1).
Artavia Ford came off the Texas Southern bench to score 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field; she also blocked two shots in the contest. Breasia McElrath pulled in a game-high eight rebounds for Texas State in addition to scoring two points.
KEY POINTS
· Leavitt was 6-of-11 from 3-point range, making 54.5 percent of her shots. As a team, the Bobcats shot 52 percent (12 of 23) from the 3-point arc.
· Kennerson shot 57 percent from the floor (12 of 21), and from 3-point range (4 of 7).
· Kennerson and Ford combined to shoot 64 percent (16 of 25) from the floor, while the rest of the Lady Tigers shot 6-of-28 (21.4 percent) from the field.
· Texas State forced 20 turnovers (while committing only 11), which yielded a 25-11 Bobcat advantage in points off turnovers.
BEYOND the BOX SCORE
· Tuesday's contest was the 14th meeting between the two teams, but only the third time they have played in Houston. Texas Southern won the only previous Houston meetings, in February, 1977, and in December, 2009.
· Kennerson's career-high of 33 points topped her previous best of 30, set last in a win at home against Alcorn State (March 2).
· Kennerson also moved up from 16th to 14th on Texas Southern's all-time scoring list. She began the day with 904 career points, and moved past Denise Taylor (912 points, 1980-84) and Morgan Simmons (921 points, 2011-2015).
· The 14-point margin of victory was the closest for Texas State in the team's three wins this season. They defeated Texas Tech 87-70 in Lubbock, and Incarnate Word 74-33 in San Antonio.
NEXT GAME(S)
The Lady Tigers head west for their next two contests, when participate in the UTEP Thanksgiving Classic this weekend. TSU faces New Mexico State at noon on Friday; and will conclude the event with UTEP on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (The times listed are for local Mountain Standard Time.)
TWEET of the GAME
.@JKennerson_ has 18 points at halftime. She entered the game ranked 16th all-time on the @TigerFans scoring list. Her ninth point moved her into 15th place, and her 18th point pulled her into 14th.
— TSU Lady Tigers Basketball (@TSUWomensHoops) November 22, 2017
Courtesy: TSU Athletics
Junior guard Joyce Kennerson scored a career-high 33 points and moved up two places on Texas Southern's all-time scoring list, but it was not enough to prevent the visiting Bobcats from picking up their third consecutive victory.
Texas State scored the first eight points of the second quarter to take a 29-20 lead and would not give up its advantage for the rest of the contest. The Lady Tigers (0-3) would respond to the 8-0 outburst by scoring the next six on a pair of Kennerson baskets and a layup by Artavia Ford, but Texas State would rebuild its lead back to 10 points by halftime.
Toshua Leavitt led a trio of Bobcats with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Taeler Deer added 15 points and Brooke Holle chipped in 13 for Texas State (3-1).
Artavia Ford came off the Texas Southern bench to score 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field; she also blocked two shots in the contest. Breasia McElrath pulled in a game-high eight rebounds for Texas State in addition to scoring two points.
KEY POINTS
· Leavitt was 6-of-11 from 3-point range, making 54.5 percent of her shots. As a team, the Bobcats shot 52 percent (12 of 23) from the 3-point arc.
· Kennerson shot 57 percent from the floor (12 of 21), and from 3-point range (4 of 7).
· Kennerson and Ford combined to shoot 64 percent (16 of 25) from the floor, while the rest of the Lady Tigers shot 6-of-28 (21.4 percent) from the field.
· Texas State forced 20 turnovers (while committing only 11), which yielded a 25-11 Bobcat advantage in points off turnovers.
BEYOND the BOX SCORE
· Tuesday's contest was the 14th meeting between the two teams, but only the third time they have played in Houston. Texas Southern won the only previous Houston meetings, in February, 1977, and in December, 2009.
· Kennerson's career-high of 33 points topped her previous best of 30, set last in a win at home against Alcorn State (March 2).
· Kennerson also moved up from 16th to 14th on Texas Southern's all-time scoring list. She began the day with 904 career points, and moved past Denise Taylor (912 points, 1980-84) and Morgan Simmons (921 points, 2011-2015).
· The 14-point margin of victory was the closest for Texas State in the team's three wins this season. They defeated Texas Tech 87-70 in Lubbock, and Incarnate Word 74-33 in San Antonio.
NEXT GAME(S)
The Lady Tigers head west for their next two contests, when participate in the UTEP Thanksgiving Classic this weekend. TSU faces New Mexico State at noon on Friday; and will conclude the event with UTEP on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (The times listed are for local Mountain Standard Time.)
TWEET of the GAME
.@JKennerson_ has 18 points at halftime. She entered the game ranked 16th all-time on the @TigerFans scoring list. Her ninth point moved her into 15th place, and her 18th point pulled her into 14th.
— TSU Lady Tigers Basketball (@TSUWomensHoops) November 22, 2017
Courtesy: TSU Athletics