Houston- The Texas Southern Lady Tigers never trailed when they hosted Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the H&PE Arena on Saturday. For the first time this season, TSU dominated their opponent and walked away with a 57-36 victory.
TSU forward Morgan Simmons (freshman, Marque, TX) grabbed an offensive rebound and put it up to give TSU the first basket of the game. The Lady Tigers took that aggressiveness and went on a 13-4 run in the first six minutes of the game. Arkansas-Pine Bluff did not lay down, but put together a run of their own and tied the game at 17 with 2:51 left to play in the first half. Janae Lyde (freshman, Albany NY) hit a jumper and Simmons scored from the free-throw line to give TSU a 20-18 lead into half time. Texas Southern guard, Gianne Fleming (junior, Peoria, AZ) led all scorers in the first period with nine points. Lyde had six points in her starting role after replacing the injured Kayla West.
Texas Southern came out of halftime on a roll; the Lady Tigers went on a 15-7 run and built a 38-25 point lead after 10 minutes on the court. TSU ended the game on a 14-7 run to hand the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Lady Lions to their 28th straight loss dating back to last season. The Lady Tigers outscored UAPB 37-18 in the second period. Overall, Texas Southern outscored Pine Bluff 37-10 in the paint, and 17-0 on fast break opportunities.
TSU forward Crystal Anyiam's (sophomore, Allen, TX) played a major role in the Lady Tiger's dominating this game. Anyiam scored all of her eight points, and six of her eleven rebounds in the second half. After a six block performance, Anyiam is now just four blocks away from being TSU's third leading shot blocker. She trails Sharnette Mcfinn who has 104 blocks. Anyiam leads the SWAC in blocks (39) and is currently ranked 13th in the NCAA. Lyde had a career night thirteen points and five assists. She played a career high 32 minutes as she stepped up for her injured teammate.
TSU will face Mississippi Valley Monday, January 23 at 5:30 pm in the H&PE Arena.
