Pound for pound, the Lady Tigers were bigger, stronger and faster, yet heart, aggression, and endurance were key ingredients to the Lady Panthers’ victory.The Lady Panthers controlled the ball from tip, however for the first six minutes of the half the Lady Panther were held scoreless, allowing TSU to go on a 5-0 run and allowing Texas Southern to dominate uncontested in the paint.
Freshman Jasmine Henderson scored the first Panther points of the night, and from that point, forward the Lady Panthers exploded offensively. In a matter of minutes, the Lady Panthers were behind by four late in the first half. Senior Casey Hart played big away from the ball as well as with the ball, hitting a field goal with 5:20 on the clock and slowly chipping away at the Tiger lead.
The offensive began attacking the basket continuously allowing freshman guard Kalandra Butler to score, and tying the game at 20 apiece, and forcing Coach Claude Cummings of the Tigers to call a time out. The Tiger timeout gave the Lady Panthers a much-needed breather and the extra wind that they needed to take their first lead of the night, on a Hart field goal.
Hart’s aggression, toughness and intensity not only gave her teammates a boost of confidence, but also sparked the tempers of the Lady Tigers. Both Hart and Tiger freshman Dominee Evans were hit with double fouls after getting tangled up on the floor, causing excitement and animosity to fuel on both benches.
Going into halftime, the Lady Panthers led by two, 30-28. Butler lead the team in scoring with ten, Hart and Sanders had four apiece. The Lady Panthers shot 11-29 from the field, and committed twelve turnovers.
The Lady Panthers simply dominated the second half, causing the Lady Tigers to commit seventeen personal fouls, eight turnovers and holding them to only seven field goals the entire half. Just a month earlier, this same Lady Tiger team defeated the Lady Panthers.
The difference between games one of this series and game two, ” was experience and us finally becoming a team,” says freshman Emily Scarborough.
High scores included: Butler 14 points and five assists, Ciara Sanders 10 points and four assist, Hart and Tamika Newman had nine points apiece.
This young team proved that it’s not just about talent, size or experience it’s about who’s willing to fight the hardest and for the longest to recover from the last defeat. It takes time and heart to build a dynasty and this young team has it.
The men’s team also beat the Tigers 76-70, this was the second win for them against the Tigers this year. The men’s next game will be a home game against the Grambling State Tigers .
The women face off tonight against Texas Pan-American, in the Baby Dome, come out and support them.