CARROLLTON, Ga. __ Tuskegee women's basketball fell in its second game of the year, suffering a 79-64 loss on the road to West Georgia on Saturday at the Coliseum, ending the weekend 1-1 against a pair of Gulf South programs.
The Golden Tigers got off to a solid start, holding the Wolves to just eight points and bringing down five offensive boards in the opening quarter. Early in the contest it was junior posts Aaliyah Austin and Jasmine Manuel providing a spark for the Golden Tigers, both scoring four points in the opening frame to help gain a 14-6 lead heading into the second.
Despite the strong start for Tuskegee, West Georgia clawed back into the game after the quarter break, taking its first lead with 6:25 to go in the half with a three-pointer from Mykah Anderson. The teams battled back-and-forth for the next few minutes, having two ties and three lead changes over the span, before the Wolves stretched their lead to four heading into halftime.
After seeing the West Georgia lead stretch to as many as 15 points at the start of the fourth quarter, the Golden Tigers continued to fight and were able to cut the deficit back to 10 at 51-41 with just over six minutes to play. This was as close as the game would get, though, as the Matadors went on a final run down the stretch, taking the 70-53 win.
The Wolves won the rebounding battle, 49-31, and outscored the Golden Tigers in the paint 32-22. Meanwhile, Tuskegee forced 21 turnovers and converted for 19 points off those miscues.
Tuskegee finished the game shooting just 30.3 percent (20-of-66) from the field, 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the free throw line and 22.2 percent (2-of-9) from behind the three-point arc. West Georgia shot 46.4 percent (26-of-56) from the floor, 66.7 percent (10-of-15) at the charity stripe and 29.6 (8-of-27) from three-point range.
Brittney Bolin led the way for Tuskegee with 18 points in 36 minutes, followed by Manuel 13 points and two steals, including going 9-for-10 from the free throw line. Austin was the next highest scorer with eight points and six rebounds in 20 minutes of play.
Four players finished in double figures for West Georgia, led by Zuriyah Davis with a game-high 20 points along with five rebounds, followed by Anderson with 14 points, along with Jada Powell and Aliyah Washington both with 12 points.
Up Next
The Golden Tigers will have their home opener on Monday, November 13, as they host Mobile at 5:30 p.m. inside the Daniel "Chappie" James Center. The game will be streamed on the Golden Tiger Sports Network, with links to live stream and stats available on goldentigersports.com.
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