BATON ROUGE, La. – Southern seized control of the contest in the fourth quarter and held off a late TSU charge for a 59-56 win Thursday night at the F.G. Clark Activity Center.
The contest started off uncharacteristically for TSU as SU opened with a 9-0 run within the first 2:20 of the first quarter. The Tigers would regroup and began to play TSU basketball as they went on a 12-0 run to claim a 12-9 lead as Niya Mitchell scored six points during that span. Southern would draw within 12-11 but TSU closed out the quarter strong as they scored the final five points of the half to lead 17-11.
SU would score the first five points of the second quarter to tie the game at 17-all but Richelle Velez's steal and three-pointer gave TSU the lead once again. TSU would suffer a pair of turnovers and SU would regain the lead by going on an 8-0 run over the next 2:49 to lead 27-20 with 2:25 remaining. TSU fought back and outscored Southern 8-4 over the final 2:25 as they trailed 31-28 at the break.
Neither team scored much to open the third quarter as Mitchell hit back-to-back buckets to move TSU ahead 36-34 at the 4:15 mark. Both teams were even the rest of the way but untimely turnovers by the Tigers helped Southern end the quarter ahead 42-41.
TSU fought back and led 44-42 early in the quarter but SU's Amani McWain tied it at 44-all nearly a minute later. TSU would miss a pair of free throws and SU scored off an offensive rebound on the ensuing possession to regain a 46-44 lead. TSU misfired on its next two three-point attempts and SU scored four straight for a 50-44 advantage as the clock read 3:55.
Ataiya Bridges answered the run with a three-pointer to cut the deficit in half but SU's Brittany Rose hit a bucket. Two free throws by Breasia McElrath saw TSU once again draw within 52-49 but SU kept finding ways to counter as TSU's defense was unable to get a much-needed stop. Raven White scored a layup to boost SU's lead to 55-51 but Ciani Cryor scored a layup to cut the Tigers' deficit to 55-53 with 56 seconds remaining.
The Tigers forced a missed three-point shot and got the defensive rebound. However, they turned over the ball with 29 seconds remaining. The Tigers fouled Caitlin Davis as she made both foul shots.
Southern led 57-53 with 26 seconds on the clock. After a TSU timeout, Velez made her third three-pointer of the game as TSU was within 57-56 with 16 seconds on the clock. The Tigers fouled Rose once again but she made both free throws with 15 seconds left.
Down 59-56, Texas Southern called timeout to set up a game-tying play. Cryor missed a three-point shot attempt and SU's Genovea Johnson pulled down the defensive board but committed a turnover. TSU had one more opportunity to tie the game but Velez's three-point attempt fell short.
Mitchell led TSU with 19 points and 13 rebounds while Cryor scored 12.
TSU is back in action on Saturday at Alcorn State at 3 p.m.
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Courtesy: TSU Athletics