Women's Basketball Falls In Heartbreaker To Jackson State

TSU's chance at ending Jackson State's undefeated run fell short in an emotional heartbreaker as JSU won 87-86 on Saturday inside the H&PE Arena.
 
JSU started out red hot as they stormed out to a 13-0 lead while TSU missed its first six shots and committed three turnovers. Texas Southern would wake up after the early JSU surge as Ataiya Bridges scored seven points to spark a 13-4 run as TSU closed to 17-13 with 3:17 left. IN what would be a recurring theme throughout the game, JSU responded back and outscored TSU 12-6 over the final 2:55 to claim a 29-19 lead entering the second quarter.
 
TSU came out of the gates on fire to begin the second quarter as they nailed four three pointers to outscore JSU 23-12 en route to a 42-41 lead after Bridges' three-pointer. JSU's  Ameysha Williams-Holliday answered with a jumper to regain the lead which began a back-and-forth tussle the remainder of the half. By the time the dust cleared at halftime, TSU would be on the positive side as they claimed a 51-49 lead.
 
The opening of the third quarter wasn't kind to TSU as they missed its first five field goals while JSU opened with a 9-0 run for a 58-51 lead with 6:41 left. After a TSU timeout, Jada Perry would end the drought with a layup and TSU would get defensive as they forced five JSU turnovers which sparked a 10-4 run and a 62-61 deficit with 2:52 remaining. Both teams would close out the fourth quarter perfect from the field but the difference was the free throw line as JSU went 4-for-6 for a 68-65 lead entering the final quarter.
 
The final quarter lived up to the hype and was full of emotions as TSU battled back from a nine and seven-point deficits with the latter occurring with 2:49 remaining. With the game slipping away, TSU battled back the hard way as they went a perfect 3-for-3 from the field led by four points each from Andriana Avent and Bridges to tie the game at 86-all after two free throws.
 
TSU would pick up a big steal with 59 seconds left but missed a go-ahead three-pointer six seconds later. JSU's Keshuna Luckett was fouled on the ensuing possession and would hit 1-of-2 free throws with 49 seconds remaining. With time winding down, TSU turned into the aggressor with two big offensive rebounds off missed shots as Alisa Knight's rebounds with one second left gave TSU a chance for a tie or win. However, Bridges' three-pointer at the buzzer misfired despite contact from the defender which allowed JSU to escape with the win.
 
Avent led TSU with 33 points followed by 32 from Bridges. Bridges also had eight assists, seven steals and six rebounds.
 
TSU is back in action on Monday against Alcorn State at 5:30 p.m. inside the H&PE Arena.