HOUSTON- The Texas Southern Lady Tigers remained unbeaten in the SWAC (3-0), as they defeated their rivals from Prairie View A&M University 72-65.
The win pushed the Lady Tigers current winning streak to six games. Senior center Keiana Vines had a dominant performance. She scored a career high 29 points and grabbed 7 rebounds.
Vines controlled the paint the entire night, shooting 13-of-19 from the field as she led her team to victory Saturday night at the HPE Arena.
Vines was aided by Brianna Sidney's 16 point, 4 assist, and 2 steal effort, along with Toni Cheadle's 10 points and game high 9 rebounds.
TSU jumped out to an early 10-4 lead midway through the first period on a basket by Vines. Joyce Kennerson's jumper with two seconds to play in the first session gave the Lady Tigers the early advantage, 19-11 at the end of one.
Prairie View would rally in the second period. The Lady Panthers Jeronia Allen cut the lead to one, 26-25 on a jumper with 5:15 to play in the first half. Texas Southern re-gained the momentum on a Vines layup with 1:41 to play in the half, giving the Lady Tigers their biggest lead of the night, 38-25.
A 7-0 Prairie View A&M run to end the half; cut the lead to 38-25 at the break.
The second half was evenly matched, as TSU and Prairie View A&M traded baskets. The game was put out of reach on a free throw by freshman guard Joyce Kennerson, which gave the Lady Tigers a 72-65 lead with 35 seconds to play.
Texas Southern shot 48 percent from the field and held a 36-29 advantage on the boards. TSU will take their winning streak on the road as they face the Jackson State Tigers Saturday, January 16, in Jackson, Mississippi.
