FORT VALLEY, Ga. | Aryana Jackson and Rachel Brownlee scored in double figures for Tuskegee University, but it wasn't enough as the Tigerettes fell to Fort Valley State University 59-48 in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action Thursday night.
 
Jackson finished the night with a team-high 13 points on 5-of-18 shooting from the floor, while Brownlee added 11 on 4-of-13 shooting after missing much of the first half in foul trouble. Uche Ibebunjo added six points and seven rebounds, while Halle Bentley added six rebounds and Jesslyn Mahone five assists for Tuskegee (3-14, 2-7 SIAC).
 
The Tigerettes shot 32.1 (17-of-53) percent from the floor and just 18.2 (4-of-22) percent from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, they shot 50 (10-of-20) percent from the free throw line and forced 25 Fort Valley State (6-14, 5-6 SIAC) turnovers.
 
The Lady Wildcats were led by Daknequa White with 15 points, while Brittnee Hazel added 14 and Shereba Montgomery 10. Katice Williams grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for Fort Valley State, who shot 39.7 (23-of-58) percent from the floor.
 
The two teams struggled in the opening quarter combining for 22 turnovers in the first 10 minutes, with Fort Valley committing nine and Tuskegee 13. The two teams combined to shot 6-of-24 from the floor and 2-of-11 combined from beyond the arc.
 
However, it was the Lady Wildcats who took advantage of the turnovers, jumping out to an early 5-0 lead over the first two-plus minutes before Tuskegee was able to get on the board with a lay-up off a turnover by Jackson with 7:05 to play in the quarter. The Tigerettes were able to tie the game at 5-all with 5:42 remaining in the quarter on a lay-up by Jackson and free throw from Bentley, before Fort Valley State went on a 7-0 run to close the quarter and take a 12-5 lead.
 
Things settled down in the second quarter after Fort Valley State scored the opening basket, Jackson ended a 9-0 run with a three-pointer to trim the deficit for Tuskegee to 14-8 with 7:12 left in the half.  The teams traded baskets for much of the quarter, until Fort Valley took a 25-17 lead with 2:01 remaining in the half. The Tigerettes closed the gap to five at 25-20 when Cheyanne Williams converted a three-point play the old-fashion way with 1:38 to play.  The lead stayed at five until a buzzer-beating shot by Fort Valley State extended the lead to 30-23 at the half.
 
Tuskegee came out of the intermission and quickly trimmed the deficit to three at 32-29 with 7:04 to play in the third quarter. During the mini-run, Jackson scored four points and Ibebunjo a pair of points. Fort Valley State was able to push the lead to six with 5:44 to play in the quarter, until Brownlee hit a free throw to trim the lead to 35-30 with 5:25 to play in the quarter.
 
Fort Valley State went on a 9-1 run to close out the third quarter and take a 44-31 lead heading into the fourth. The Tigerettes fought back in the fourth quarter after trailing by as many as 18 (51-33) with 7:30 to play in the game. A jumper by Brownlee and a three-pointer by Demetries McNealey with 6:55 to play trimmed the deficit to 51-38, but that is as close as Tuskegee could get over the last few minutes of the game.
 
Tuskegee returns to action Saturday afternoon against Albany State University in a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest on the road, with tip scheduled for 1 pm (est).
 
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