HOUSTON, Texas | Five Grambling State University women's basketball players reached double figures in scoring, but it wasn't enough to overcome a huge second-half deficit in falling to Texas Southern, 96-86, in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game on Saturday afternoon at the H&PE Arena.
Grambling State (10-13 overall, 7-5 SWAC) trailed by as many as 18 points (59-41) midway through the third quarter. GSU trimmed the deficit to four midway during the final period, but could not get any closer.
Colbi Maples paced Grambling State with a season and career-high 19 points, on 9-of-13 shooting. She added five assists, three steals and one rebound. Alexus Holt chipped in 15 points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist, while Trasity Totten registered 15 points, four boards, and two steals. Justice Coleman recorded 14 points, four rebounds and three assists. Ariel Williams tallied 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot.
Ataiya Bridges, who went 9-of-14 from the floor and 15-of-16 from the free-throw line, led Texas Southern with a game-high 34 points, seven assists, three rebounds and three steals. Andriana Avent registered 23 points, on 7-of-14 shooting and four 3-pointers. She also added three rebounds and two assists. Jada Perry recorded 21 points, a game-high 13 rebounds, two steals and one assist, while Shalexxus Aaron added 10 points, four boards, one assist and one blocked shot.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Grambling State raced out to a 10-2 lead after a bucket by Leah Morrow with 7:30 remaining in the opening quarter
- Texas Southern (7-12, 7-5) answered with a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to grab a 12-10 advantage
- A steal and fastbreak layup by Colbi Maples gave GSU a 21-20 advantage after one period
- Texas Southern began the second quarter on a 13-4 run, capped by a pair of free throws by Ataiya Bridges, to grab a 33-27 lead with 6:05 left.
- A jumper by Bridges gave TSU a 40-31 lead with just over three minutes to play
- A reverse layup by Maples cut the TSU advantage to 42-38 with just under two minutes remaining
- However, back came Texas Southern with back-to-back buckets by Bridges to push the margin to 47-38 with 1:03 left in the second
- TSU got three free throws by Andriana Avent right before the break to take a 50-40 lead into the half
- Texas Southern continued to offensive pressure as Ariana Taylor drained a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 59-41 with 5:50 remaining in the third period
- Grambling State trimmed the deficit to 67-59 after an Alexus Holt layup with 49 seconds left
- Texas Southern finished the quarter strong as Avent buried a 3-pointer and Bridges sank a jumper to take a 72-61 lead into the final period
- Grambling State continued to claw its way back into the game, closing the gap to 78-70 after a Trasity Totten bucket with 6:10 remaining
- A Maples layup trimmed the margin to 78-74, with 5:25 left
- However, buckets by Perry and Bridges quickly extended the TSU advantage to 83-74 with just under five minutes to play
- Back-to-back turnovers by Grambling State led to a pair of fastbreak layups as Texas Southern pushed the lead to 89-77 with 2:47 left
- Grambling State never got any closer than six points down the stretch
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Grambling State shot 52.2 percent (35-of-67) from the field and 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from the free-throw line
- Colbi Maples finished with 19 points, five assists, three steals and one rebound
- Alexus Holt recorded 15 points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist
- Trasity Totten tallied 15 points, four boards and two steals
- Justice Coleman added 14 points, four boards and three assists
- Ariel Williams chipped in 10 points, five boards, three assists and one blocked shot
- Grambling State finished with 50 points in the paint, 25 points off 24 Texas Southern turnovers, 25 bench points, six fastbreak points and six second-chance points
- Texas Southern shot 55.4 percent (31-of-56) from the field and 93.1 percent (27-of-29) from the charity stripe
- Ataiya Bridge finished with a game-high 34 points, seven assists, three rebounds and three steals
- Andriana Avent tallied 23 points, three rebounds and two assists
- Jada Perry registered a double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds, along with two steals and one assist
- Shalexxus Aaron posted 10 points, four boards, one assist and one blocked shot
- Texas Southern finished with 40 points in the paint, 27 points off 17 Grambling State turnovers, 23 bench points, 16 second-chance points and eight fastbreak points
NEWS & NOTES
- Texas Southern sweeps the season series over Grambling State
- Grambling State falls to 7-5 in the conference and moved into a tie with Texas Southern. TSU holds the tiebreaker by virtue of sweeping the season series
- GSU head coach Freddie Murray is 2-4 all-time at Texas Southern and is 7-8 all-time against TSU
- Grambling State is 0-2 in games played on NBA TV... The Lady Tigers lost to Jackson State last season
- Grambling State dropped its first road game to Texas Southern since Feb. 17, 2020
- Grambling State scored 86 points, the second-most this season (88 vs. Alabama State)
UP NEXT
Grambling State continues its road swing as the Lady Tigers visit Prairie View A&M on Monday. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. from the William J. Nicks Baby Dome.
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