Lady Tigers return to winning ways with 50-34 win at HBU

HOUSTON – Texas Southern University's Lady Tigers played their first game of the 2016-17 season in their hometown Sunday, winning 50-34 at Houston Baptist.
 
Artavia Ford's 15 points and seven rebounds led the way for the Lady Tigers (5-2). Joyce Kennerson tallied 12 points and Breasia McElrath chipped in 10 points for TSU.
 
Taylor Kollmorgen led the Huskies with 10 points and eight rebounds; she was 8-of-8 from the free throw line. HBU's record fell to 1-6.
 
The Lady Tigers led for 38 and half of the game's 40 minutes. TSU held its hosts to 20 percent shooting (10 of 50) from the field, which marked the season's best defensive effort for the Lady Tigers.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
TSU scored five of the game's first six points, with Ford knocking down a pair of free throws at the 7:21 mark of the opening period to give the Lady Tigers a four-point lead. Back-to-back layups by the Huskies would produce the game's only tie, but a layup by Ford at the 5:47 mark gave TSU a lead it would not surrender for the duration of the contest.
 
Ford's layup was the first of nine unanswered points by the Lady Huskies, with Brianna Lewis capping the run with a free throw with 1:49 remaining in the opening quarter. A layup by Finnish national Heidi Byrd ended HBU's drought, while HBU held a 14-7 lead at the end of the first 10 minutes.
 
The Lady Tigers' length and athleticism continued to give HBU trouble in the second period, as the visitors started the frame with an 11-2 run. A 3-pointer by Ford – the only one she attempted Sunday – capped the run with 6:08 remaining in the second quarter as TSU stretched its lead 25-9.
 
TSU took is largest lead of the game (19 points) with a pair of Ford free throws with 4:30 left in the third quarter. The large advantage protected the Lady Tigers from a resurgent HBU squad, who scored the period's final nine points to cut TSU's lead to 36-26.
 
HBU would cut the lead to eight points multiple times in the final period, but Texas Southern held their hosts scoreless over the game's final 6:14 to win by a comfortable margin.
 
GAME NOTES:
- TSU recorded 16 steals in the game, the team's second highest total of the season.
- The Lady Tigers held HBU without a 3-point field goal throughout the contest, as the Huskies shot 0-of-11 from long range.
- Texas Southern's 50 points was its lowest total of the season, but the team forced 27 opposition turnovers – also the second highest total for TSU opponent this year.
- The win over HBU was the Lady Tigers' first over an opponent from the Southland Conference this season. TSU's only two losses this year came from Southland programs Texas A&M–Corpus Christi and New Orleans.
 
NEXT UP:
The Lady Tigers will host their only true non-conference home game of the season when they host Rice next Sunday. Tipoff between the Owls and Lady Tigers is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Health and Physical Education Arena.