JACKSONVILLE, Fla. __ With the overtime on the line with the score tied at 62-62, senior guard
Sumaiyah Abdur-Rahim secured the win for her Tuskegee team, sinking a pair of free throws after drawing a foul as time expired for the 64-62 final.
After dropping their last contest to end a three-game win streak, the Tuskegee women's basketball team responded in a big way to split the current road trip behind three double-figure scorers, including 15 from
Brittney Bolin, along with a season-high eight rebounds.
Arielle McElroy added 13 points, three rebounds, and two assists, followed by
Jasmine Manuel with ten points and four rebounds.
In a back-and-forth first ten minutes, Abdur-Rahim led the way with five points for Tuskegee, while the Golden Tigers made two of their three total three-pointers in the first period. Despite three ties in the quarter, Edward Waters led for nearly five minutes, followed by controlling the momentum in the second quarter, leading by seven (36-29) at the half.
Tuskegee opened the second half on a 7-0 run to tie the game again at 36-36 just ahead of the first media timeout, however trailed by five again minutes later. The Golden Tigers remained in striking distance and took the lead again at 44-43 after a jumper from McElroy with just over three minutes to go in the frame, before going into the third with Edward Waters leading 45-44.
Both teams battled score-for-score, with the lead changing hands multiple times over the first few minutes of the final quarter. Tuskegee took a 51-50 lead with six minutes remaining, and extended the lead to three, holding off an Edward Waters comeback, until a clutch basket from the Tiger to tie the game with two seconds to go, seemingly forcing the game to overtime. From there, Abdur-Rahim sank the final two free throws, securing the win.
The Golden Tigers finished the night 23-of-57 from the field for 40.4 percent, 3-of-11 shooting (27.3 percent) from three-point range. They also hit 15-of-23 from the line, including eight of their final 10-of-12 in the fourth quarter. TU scored 30 points in the paint and ten points off turnovers in the contest.
Edward Waters shot at a 42.6 percent mark, going 24-of-66 overall and 4-of-21 from three. The Tigers led for 36 minutes of play in the contest that saw eight lead changes and seven ties on the day.
With the win, Tuskegee is now 3-2 in SIAC play and have now won three games on the road on the year.
UP NEXT
Tuskegee will return home to host Allen on Thursday, January 4 at 5:30 p.m. CT, inside the Daniel "Chappie" James Center. The game can be seen on the Golden Tiger Sports Network, with live stats available on goldentigersports.com.
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Stay connected with Tuskegee Women's Basketball on Twitter (@Tuskegee_WBB) and Instagram (@tuskegeewbb). For complete coverage of Tuskegee University athletics, follow on social media at @MyTUAthletics (Twitter/Instagram), @GoldenTigerSports on Facebook, and visit the official home of Tuskegee University athletics at www.goldentigersports.com.
