SAVANNAH, Ga. __ Tuskegee got 19 points out of senior guard
Sumaiyah Abdur-Rahim Tuesday afternoon, leading four double figure scorers to knock out Allen, 68-53, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Championship, presented by Cricket inside Tiger Arena.
Abdur-Rahim shot 8-of-17 from the floor, along with four rebounds, four steals, and three assists to make it 15 of 24 games scoring in double figures this season.
TU finished a 3-0 season sweep of the Yellow Jackets beating them in consecutive meetings this season and now won sixth straight over Allen. The program also extends the win streak in SIAC Championship games to four.
After a slow start on both sides, Allen got on the board with a pair of free throws over two minutes into the game, before an 8-0 response from Tuskegee, capped by a three-pointer from
Mikayla Malik to go up 8-2 at the 6:21-mark. The Yellow Jackets cut into the lead with a run of their own to trail 10-8 with just over three minutes in the quarter. From there, TU closed the quarter strong, leading 15-12 after one.
Abdur-Rahim opened the scoring in the second with a three-pointer, assisted by
Cynaye Bobbitt, helping Tuskegee go up 22-14, before later going up double figures at 29-19 at the 2:35-mark in the quarter. At the half, the Golden Tigers led 33-24.
The two teams battled back and forth in the third, as Allen outscored Tuskegee 19-16 in the period. The Yellow Jackets shot 50 percent (6-for-12) from the field and went a perfect 2-for-2 mark from three-point range. However, Tuskegee extended its lead by as many as 11, continuing to hold the lead for the entire quarter, holding a 49-43 lead into the final quarter, eventually going on to win.
Following the 19 from Abdur-Rahim was both Malik and
Jasmine Manuel both ended with 12 points respectively. Manual also finished with a team-high 10 rebounds.
Brittney Bolin was the final double figure scorer for Tuskegee, finishing with ten points on 4-of-9 shooting, along with five assists, four rebounds, and four steals in the win.
TU shot 40.3 percent on the night (27-for-67), 26.1 percent (6-for-23), and 80 percent from the free throw line (8-for-10). Allen on the other hand shot 37.8 percent (17-for-45) from the field, 46.4 percent (13-for-28) from the stripe, and 40 percent (6-for-15) from deep.
The Golden Tigers led on the scoreboard for over 36 minutes of play, outrebounding the Yellow Jackets (45-30), while outscoring the opponent in fast break points (10-7), points in the paint (40-18), points off turnovers (17-11), and second chance points (15-7).
Up Next
Tuskegee will face off against the top seed from the East Division in Savannah State on Thursday, Mar. 7. Tip-off for the quarterfinal matchup is set for 12 p.m. ET inside of Tiger Arena.
How to Follow the Golden Tigers: For complete information on Tuskegee Golden Tigers Women's Basketball, visit
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