A third-quarter run by Rice was the difference as TSU women’s basketball fell 89-62 on the road Friday afternoon.
Rice would jump out to a 7-0 lead to open the game but TSU fought back as three-pointers from Aaliyah Henderson and Tiana Mathis closed the gap to 9-8. However, Rice remained red hot from the field en route to shooting 60 percent (9-of-15) while TSU would only score six points over the final 6:42 as they trailed 24-14 at the close of the quarter.
The Tigers would continue to hang around in the second quarter as Aylasia Fantroy’s layup off her own steal cut the lead to 34-26 with 5:28 left. Rice would counter with a layup but Fantroy’s free throw kept the lead to single digits (36-27). Rice went on a 7-0 run to up its lead to 16 (43-27) with 2:53 left. Courtlyn Loudermill’s three-pointer at the 1:26 mark capped off a 5-0 TSU run as they would end the half down 12 at 44-32.
The Tigers came out of the locker room roaring to open the second half as two quick baskets by Fantroy cut the lead to 10 which led to a Rice timeout. TSU would force another turnover and Aaliyah Henderson’s layup drew them to within eight at 46-38. TSU would cut the lead down to seven on two occasions within the next minute as they trailed by seven at 48-41 with 7:13 remaining. However, the team would go cold from that point as Rice closed out the quarter on a 21-5 surge to lead 69-46.
Rice maintained its cushion throughout the fourth quarter en route to winning its fourth straight contest over TSU.
Loudermill led TSU with 18 points and nine rebounds while Fantroy added 14 points.’
TSU is back in action on Monday at 7 p.m. in College Station at Texas A&M.
Source: Houston Southern University Athletics/tsusports.com