ALBANY, Ga. | Albany State University opened a lead in the second quarter and held off Tuskegee University throughout the remainder of the game, handing the Tigerettes a 73-40 loss in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play Saturday afternoon.
 
Tuskegee (3-15, 2-8 SIAC) was led by Aryana Jackson with 16 points, her sixth consecutive game in double figures, while adding four steals in the loss. Rachel Brownlee added 12 points, hitting on all eight of her free throws, while scoring in double figures for the 17th time this season (15 consecutive).
 
Halle Bentley grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds for the Tigerettes, who finished the day shooting just 17.5 (11-of-63) percent from the floor and 16.7 (4-of-24) percent from beyond the arc.
 
Meanwhile, Keidra Green led all scored with 18 points for Albany State (10-10, 10-2 SIAC), while Zuri Frost added 14 for the Lady Golden Rams. Ieshia Young added 10 points, while Artisha Horton grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds.
 
The Tigerettes led Albany State after the first quarter, thanks in part to Jackson and Brownlee combining for all 11 of the team's points. Jackson scored the team's first six points, helping Tuskegee race out to a 6-2 lead just four minutes into the game. Tuskegee held the lead until Albany State was able to tie it at 8-all on a Sierra Foster putback. The Tigerettes regained the lead on a free throw by Jackson, and held that until the end of the opening 10 minutes.
 
Tuskegee led by five in the opening minutes of the second quarter, 15-10 after a Bentley putback. But with three of their top scorers on the bench to open the quarter, the Tigerettes couldn't stop a run that Albany State started with a three-pointer from Green with 8:40 to play in the half. The run continued when another Green three-pointer found its mark with 7:53 to play in the half and gave Albany State their first lead of the game, 16-15.
 
The run continued over the next five minutes, until a layup from Tyler Everett with 3:11 to play in the half ended the flurry. The basket ended a 20-1 run by Albany State that put the Lady Golden Rams up 30-16 at the time, and built a 32-22 halftime lead.
 
Both teams struggled in third quarter, combining for 11 points through the first five minutes and into the media timeout. After a Jackson three-pointer to start the half trimmed the Albany State lead to 32-25, the Lady Golden Rams pushed the lead back to 13 until Jackson hit a lay-up with 4:46 to play and trimmed the lead to 38-27. From there, Albany State went on a 10-2 run to close out the third quarter and take a 48-29 lead into the final period.
 
The run continued for the Lady Golden Rams in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, extending the run to 16-2 and the lead was pushed to 25 until Brownlee hit a pair of free throws with seven minutes to play to end the run. However, the deficit was too much overcome despite a three-pointer from Kierra Ward.
 
The Tigerettes return to action Monday night, hosting Miles College in a SIAC West Division match-up. The game tips at 5:30 pm, and can be heard on the Heritage Radio Sports Network (HSRN).
 
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