OXFORD, Miss. – Andriana Avent's fastbreak layup with 47 seconds remaining in the first quarter pushed her career total at TSU to over 500 points in two seasons as the Tigers fell 93-47 at Ole Miss on Monday night.
Avent's layup was just the second made field goal of the opening period after Micah Gray's layup at the 2:41 mark ended an 18-0 scoring streak for the Rebels to begin the game.
Down 38-10 midway through the second quarter, TSU (0-7) used an 8-2 run over 2:36 to draw to within 40-18. The scoring run was started by a Kamryn Bates three-pointer that was quickly followed by a Myah Taylor layup for Ole Miss (6-1) before Avent made a pair from the charity stripe prior to concluding the run with a three-point make of her own.
Gray tallied the final three points of the first half on free throws as the Rebels owned a 44-21 lead heading into the locker room.
Another long scoring drought in the third quarter hurt the Tigers as the game would become too far out of reach with just the fourth quarter remaining. Gray's made jumper with 31 seconds into the third quarter would begin a stretch of 5:14 of game action in which the Tigers did not convert on a single field goal and falling behind by a score of 56-23 before ending the quarter at 67-31.
Gray finished the night going 5-for-12 from the field and 2-for-8 from long range as well as 7-for-8 from the free throw line for a game-high 19 points.
Avent added 13 points to go along with two rebounds and three steals for TSU while Jaida Belton was the rebounding queen for the Tigers as she hauled in a team-best eight on the night.
UP NEXT
With finals week set to begin on December 3, the Tigers will only have practice over the next two weeks before they play again on Sunday, Dec. 11, when a trip to Tallahassee, Fla., will be on the docket. Tip-off between the Tigers and Florida State is set for 1 p.m. CST.
