Final Score: Lipscomb: 49- Tennessee State: 50
Location: Nashville, Tenn. (Allen Arena)
Records: Lipscomb 4-5, Tennessee State 3-6
THE SHORT STORY: Despite a double-double from
Dorie Harrison, Lipscomb fell by the narrowest of margins after a scrappy battle with Tennessee State by a final score of 49-50 in favor of the Tigers.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The game got off to a slow start with both team's struggling to get going on the offensive end.
Maddie Cook highlighted the first quarter for the Bisons with four points while
Casey Collier and
Nicole Hemphill picked up two points each. At the end of the first frame the game was tied at 8 a piece.
Tennessee State came out of the gate hot in the second quarter going on a 10-2 run to take a 18-10 lead with just four minutes left in the first half.
Dorie Harrison gave the Bisons a spark on the defensive end with a big block that led to a 9-0 Bisons run.
Blythe Pearson ended the half with a three-pointer that sent Lipscomb to the locker room with a one-point deficit.
Pearson picked up right where she left off and kicked off the third quarter with another triple that once-again gave the Bisons a narrow lead.
After trading blows, Tennessee State went on an 8-0 run to push the score to 28-34 and continued impressive work on the defensive end, holding the Bisons without a field goal for over eight minutes in the third quarter.
Pearson got the Bisons out of the slump with her fourth three-pointer of the night at the third quarter buzzer to pull the Bisons back within single-digits.
After a tight first four minutes of the final quarter, Pearson scored five more points to put Lipscomb back within a couple possessions.
The Bisons dug deep and another three-pointer from Pearson and a layup put the Bisons within two points with just 19 seconds in the game. The Tigers drew a foul on the next possession, but a pair of missed free throws gave Lipscomb the final possession of regulation down a pair. Lipscomb drew a shooting foul with 0.7 seconds left on the clock and made the first from the charity stripe. What would have been the game-tying free throw rattled off the rim and Tennessee State retained a 50-49 lead. Lipscomb forced a turnover with 0.2 seconds left on the clock, but there wasn't enough time to get a shot off and the Tigers squeaked out the victory at Allen Arena.
HERD NOTES:
- The Bisons shot 18-of-49 from the field for 36.7-percent on the game
- Lipscomb held Tennessee State to a 26.5 shooting percentage (9-of-34) in the first half while they notched a 42.9 percentage themselves.
- Pearson matched her career-high with 20 points and went 6-of-8 from the three-point line.
- Harrison set a new career-high in rebounds with 16 on the night. She also poured in 11 points for her fourth career double-double and the first this season for Lipscomb.
UP NEXT:
The Bisons will head to Murray, Ky. to face the Murray State Racers on Saturday, Dec. 18 at 5:00 p.m. at the CFSB Center.
