DALLAS – Texas Southern had no answers for the red hot 3-point shooting of SMU in an 84-72 WNIT first round loss Thursday night at Moody Coliseum.
The Lady Tigers also had no answer for All-American Athletic Conference first-teamer and Mustang guard Keena Mays who torched TSU for a game-high 32 points. Mays was 10-of-18 shooting from the field for the game, which includes shooting 5-of-8 from the 3-point line and making 7-of-8 shots from the free throw line.
Texas Southern trailed 44-35 to begin the second half before going on an 11-2 scoring run sparked by a 3-pointer made by Brianna Sidney, and then 8 straight points by SWAC Player of the Year Jazzmin Parker to tie the score at 48 with 16:47 remaining. Those would be the only points Parker would score on the night after only playing 2 minutes in the first half.
But solid 3-point shooting by SMU, including 3 second half 3-pointers by Mays, secured the second half lead for good.
Sidney was the leading scorer for the Lady Tigers (20-13) with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field. Morgan Simmons and Ashley Ferguson each had 9 points with Simmons also grabbing 9 rebounds.
The Lady Tigers on the night shot 48.3 percent (28-of-58) from the field, 26.7 percent (4-of-15) from the 3-point line and 70.6 percent (12-of-17) from the free throw line.
SMU (18-13) had two other players score in double figures. Akil Simpson scored 15 points and Gabrielle Wilkins accounted for 13 points.
The Mustangs shot 50 percent (30-of-60) from the field including 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from the 3-point line.
