HUNTSVILLE, Ala. | The Tuskegee University women's basketball team was unable to overcome a sluggish second quarter, falling to Alabama A&M 66-55 at T.M. Elmore Gymnasium in non-conference action Wednesday night.
Rachel Brownlee led Tuskegee (1-8) with 24 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the floor, and 4-of-7 from the free throw line.
Tyler Everett added six points and eight rebounds, while
Jesslyn Mahone and
Cheyanne Williams grabbed seven rebounds each in the loss.
Tuskegee shot 33.3 (19-of-57) percent from the floor, and 28.6 (4-of-14) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 56.5 (13-of-23) percent from the free throw line.
Meanwhile, Alabama A&M (1-6) – a NCAA Division I member-school of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) – was led by Janie Myles with 22 points and 14 rebounds, while Jaylan Snowden added 14. Shakira Morgan added nine points and eight rebounds for Alabama A&M.
The Lady Bulldogs shot 45 (27-of-60) percent from the floor and just 13.3 (2-of-15) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 41.7 (10-of-24) percent from the free throw line, while winning the rebounding battle 46-35.
The Tigerettes were unable to overcome the second quarter in which they were held to a season-low two points, although they outscored Alabama A&M 41-35 in the second half.
Tuskegee was able to keep the game close in the first quarter, pulling to within three at 9-6 following a jumper by
Halle Bentley. The lead went to six over the next minute, but a pair of free throws by Brownlee pulled the Tigerettes back to within four at 12-8 with 4:29 to play in the first quarter.
After Alabama A&M was able to extend the lead to eight, the biggest lead at the time, at 16-8 with 2:52 to play in the quarter; Tuskegee fought back to within four at 16-12 following a jumper by Brownlee and a pair of free throws from
Demetries McNealey with 1:29 to play in the opening quarter.
However, Alabama A&M closed the first quarter – and started the second quarter – on a 10-0 run to jump ahead 26-12 with 6:57 to play in the opening half.
Tuskegee was able to get on the board in the second quarter on a
Donovan Wingfield lay-up with 5:57 to play, ending a span of 4:17 without a field goal for the Tigerettes. After a pair of free throws by Alabama A&M with 4:36 to play in the half pushed the lead to 28-14, neither team scored over the next three-plus minutes until the Lady Bulldogs scored the final three points of the half with nine seconds remaining to take a 31-14 lead into the locker room.
The Tigerettes came out of the locker room and immediately hit a pair of three-pointers to close the gap, when
Ashley Johnson and Mahone each hit a shot from beyond the arc. The two teams traded baskets until the media timeout with 4:54 to play in the quarter with Alabama A&M leading 39-24.
After Alabama A&M took a 43-24,
Kierra Ward drained a three-pointer with 3:04 to play in the quarter to trim the deficit to 43-27. The score stayed that way until a pair of Alabama A&M free throws with 1:13 to play in the quarter pushed the lead to 45-27. The Tigerettes used free throws from Johnson and Everett down the stretch in the third quarter to get the deficit to 47-30 entering the fourth quarter.
The Tigerettes were able to cut into the lead into the fourth quarter, pulling to within 14 on a pair of occasions, then within 12 with 3:38 to play when Brownlee picked up a loose ball in the lane forcing an Alabama A&M timeout at 58-46.
Ward hit another three-point with just over a minute remaining to pull the Tigerettes to within 11 at 64-53. Brownlee trimmed it even further to 64-55 with under 30 second to play. The Lady Bulldogs were able to hold on late in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
Tuskegee returns to action on January 2 in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play (SIAC) against Benedict College on the road. The game is part of a two-game swing in the state, as the Tigerettes will also play Claflin (January 4).
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