It was one-and-done for the Tennessee State as the Tigers fell 73-64 to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in the opening round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
The Tigers found themselves in an uphill battle immediately, falling behind by 10-3 at the 7:25 mark of the first quarter.
SIUE’s Macy Silvey got off to a hot start, torching the Tigers for 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor, including connecting on four of her five 3-point attempts in the first 10 minutes of play.
Tennessee State struggled offensively, shooting 25% from the field, with usual leading scorers Erica Haynes-Overton and Gia Adams going a combined 1-of-7 from the floor.
TSU’s sputtering offense assisted the Cougars, which shot 50% for the quarter, building their lead to 41-27 at halftime.
Tennessee State spent the majority of the third quarter facing a double-digit deficit. However, a 10-2 spurt — capped off by Saniah Parker’s Irving layup — brought the Tigers to within 49-44 with 2:13 left in the quarter. SIUE responded with a 7-2 stretch of their own to push the lead back to double digits heading into the fourth quarter.
The Tigers clawed their way from down by as many as 12 points to get within 66-63 after a Parker 3-pointer with 2:32 left in the contest.
However, just as was the case in the third quarter, SIUE responded with a game-ending 5-1 run to stave off the Tigers and punch their ticket into the next round.
Macy Silvey led three Cougars in double figures with 22 points. Ajulu Thatha grabbed 11 rebounds to go along with her 16 points and Mikayla Kinnard contributed 13 points and 9 rebounds.
Gia Adams led Tennessee State with 21 points. Saniah Parker added 17 points and 9 rebounds and Erica Haynes-Overton chipped in with 11 points.
