COLUMBUS, Ga. __ The Tuskegee women's basketball team used a strong fourth quarter to earn a hard-fought 72-65 road victory over Columbus State inside the Lumpkin Center on Tuesday evening.
It was the final non-conference game of the regular season for Tuskegee (5-2, 2-1 SIAC), following the last matchup for the Golden Tigers after defeating West Alabama (Nov. 10) and Mobile (Nov. 13).
Both teams started strong, as Columbus State scored the first four points, before the game's first tie at 4-4 just over two minutes into the contest.
The Cougars regained a four-point lead minutes later, before another response from Tuskegee to tie the game at 12-12. The quarter ended with the Golden Tigers trailing 20-19 after a three-pointer from junior forward
Cynaye Bobbitt to head into the second.
The two teams continued to battle in the next period, with neither team separating on the scoreboard, as TU extended the lead to four twice, before heading into the break tied 34-34.
The Cougars controlled much of the third, taking the first lead of the frame after a free throw on their first possession, before a response from Tuskegee to go back up three following an inside score from junior forward
Aaliyah Austin. The game remained a one possession contest over the next few minutes until a pair of free throws from CSU changed the lead for the final time of the third.
CSU extended its lead to as many as seven during the fourth quarter at 65-58, Tuskegee began to claw back, starting with a free throw from Bobbitt before a pair of baskets from
Arielle McElroy and
Kei'lley Brown to get within two points.
TU later tied the game at 65-65 with a pair of free throws with just under three minutes left, and did not allow another score from their opponent, ending the game on a 14-0 run for the win. The Cougars made just four field goals in the period, shooting 23.5 percent from the field, 14.3 percent from three-point range and missing all four free throws in the final quarter.
The Golden Tigers outscored the Cougars in points in the paint (38-30) and bench points (26-20), along with grabbing 46 rebounds compared to 33 by CSU. Meanwhile, TU shot season-highs of 50 percent (29-for-58) percent from the field and 42.9 percent (6-for-14) from long range.
Bobbitt led a season-high six double figure scorers for Tuskegee in the win with a career-high 16 points and six rebounds, the second straight double figure game for the native from Killeen, Texas. Senior guard
Sumaiyah Abdur-Rahim finished with 12 points and five assists, followed by Austin,
Brittney Bolin, and McElroy who all scored ten points in the win.
Letiya Reeves led the way for the Cougars with 14 points and seven boards, followed by Amber Abusbeih with 12 points and four assists.
Tuskegee will return to conference play this weekend as they return to the state of Georgia to take on Savannah State on Saturday, December 16. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. ET inside of Tiger Arena.
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