The Skyhawk women took it to 13-12 Tennessee State, outscoring them in every quarter on course to a 52-73 win over the Tigers.
The Skyhawks flourished defensively against the Tigers creating turnovers and scoring on the fastbreak to stay a step ahead of the Tigers. The Skyhawks created 20 points off turnovers in the first half alone compared to the Tigers’ three.
The Skyhawks were led by two players en route to a 21-point victory, junior forward Anaya Brown and sophomore guard Kenley McCarn totaled 44 of the Skyhawks’ 73 points.
Brown led all scorers on the night with a double-double, totaling 24 points, ten rebounds and five blocks. Brown’s five blocks is a career high and the most by any Skyhawk this season. Brown opened up the game with six straight points and would rack up 12 in the first quarter alone.
Joining Brown in the 20-point club was McCarn with exactly 20 points to go along with five rebounds. McCarn provided some support outside of the paint while Brown physically dominated the paint.
Other contributors for the Skyhawks included junior guard Shae Littleford (ten points) and sophomore guard Daejah Richmond (seven points; seven rebounds; six steals)
Both very physical brands of basketball, the Skyhawks hounded the Tigers’ ball handlers, creating turnovers and drawing fouls to create easy points.
Richmond was the Skyhawks’ best defender for the game with six steals but also a lot of plays that won’t show up on the stat sheet.
The turning point of the game was the second quarter, where the Skyhawks outscored the Tigers 20-5; holding TSU to just one shot for the entire quarter. The defensive effort led to a 35-19 second half lead for the Skyhawks, they wouldn’t relinquish the lead for the rest of the game.
The Tigers would attempt to mount a comeback to start the second half, but that would quickly by squashed by the Skyhawks, shooting 53% in the fourth.
The Skyhawks would take home the win and improve to 9-8 in the OVC and 12-16 overall.
The Skyhawks next game will take them to Cookeville, Tennessee to take on the 20-5 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles on Thursday, Feb. 20 with tipoff set for 5:30 p.m..
