Lady Tigers narrowly edged 53-52 at Alcorn State

LORMAN, Miss. – The Lady Tigers of Texas Southern University dropped a heartbreaker to Alcorn State 53-52 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference opener for both teams Saturday.
 
TSU had two chances to take to score the go-ahead basket in the final eight seconds, but each of their shots were off the mark as Alcorn held on for the victory.
 
Marquia Turner, Catherine Okwilagwe, and Richelle Velez scored 10 points apiece to lead the Lady Tigers (4-8, 0-1 SWAC). Niya Mitchell chipped in seven points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
De'Asia Brown scored 15 points for Alcorn State (2-11, 1-0 SWAC).
 
The teams were tied 11-11 at the end of the first period; Alcorn State then seized control of the game by scoring eight unanswered points in the first three minutes of the second quarter. The Lady Braves never trailed from that point on, though TSU would chip away at the lead in the second half.
 
Alcorn led by as many as five points with less than a minute to play, but layups by Okwilagwe and Turner (with a Braves turnover in between) trimmed the home team's lead to 51-50 with 23 seconds remaining in the game.
 
Brown was then fouled and hit two free throws for Alcorn State with 16 seconds showing on the clock. The Lady Tigers responded quickly, getting the ball the Turner for a made jumper with 12 seconds remaining.
 
Alcorn then turned the ball over twice in the final seconds, but TSU was unable to get the go-ahead basket.
 
TSU shot only 31 percent (19 of 61) from the floor in the game, and were held to 17 percent (4 of 23) shooting from 3-point range.
 
The Lady Tigers return to action Monday when they visit Southern. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Baton Rouge.