NASHVILLE - Lipscomb women's basketball took a trip up the road to take on the Tennessee State Tigers in a Friday night showdown at the Gentry Center on TSU's campus. The Bisons earned a decisive 74-43 victory over the Tigers to claim their fifth win over TSU as a program and their first win over their local foes since 2019.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bisons got off to a hot start in the Gentry Center, claiming the opening points off a three-pointer from
Bella Vinson and never turning back. Vinson and
Aleah Sorrentino combined for the squad's first 10-5 lead and were joined by
Blythe Pearson,
Molly Heard, and
Claira McGowan on the statboards in the first quarter as the Purple and Gold ran up a 22-7 lead heading into the first break.
Taylor Bowen and
Olivia Vandergriff were the next Bisons to add to Lipscomb's bottom line, tallying the opening points of the second quarter to push the squad up to a 20-point lead. The Tigers made a brief surge, but Sorrentino and Vinson helped the Bisons extend their lead to a 22-point cushion.
Elena Bertrand earned her first points as a Bison on the free-throw line where she went two-for-two to bring the Bisons up to 36 points in the contest. The Purple and Gold continued to rain down shots from all across the court while simultaneously locking down TSU on the defensive side, holding Tigers under 20 points heading into halftime.
Play resumed and TSU made a surge in the beginning of the third frame, but the Bisons were quick to put a stop to it with big work from
Diana Saleh and
Bella Vinson in the quarter. Saleh provided the Bisons with a well-timed jumper to go up 51-26 while Vinson logged four free-throws to extend the squad's lead to 26.
McGowan made her mark early in the fourth quarter, nailing a jumper and a three ball in consecutive possesions which sparked the Bisons into an electric final ten minutes.
Kamil Collier got in on the action as she danced around Tennessee State defenders to drop in a layup and improve the Bisons advantage to 32 at 67-35.
Play continued back and forth as the Tigers made their last attempt at a comeback, but a set of free-throws and a final three pointer from Bowen pulled the Bisons up to their final 74-43 mark to claim victory over TSU.
HERD NOTES
- The Bisons had a big night from the field, shooting 26-of-54 for a 48.1 field goal percentage while going 9-for-20 from deep for a 45.0 three-point percentage.
- Lipscomb's squad pulled down 42 rebounds, 31 of which were defensive.
- Aleah Sorrentino put on a show for the Bisons tonight, tallying a team-high 14 total points and pulling down a team-high seven rebounds.
- Ten Bisons added to Lipscomb's point total for the night, with Sorrentino, Vinson, and Bowen all hitting double digits.
- Bowen's 10 point outing was a career-high for the sophomore.
UP NEXT
The Bisons will next head to Bloomington, Ind. to face off with #18 Indiana on Sunday, Nov. 19
th. The contest with the Hoosiers is set to begin at 1:00 p.m. CT and will air on the Big10+ network. Continue to check lipscombsports.com and the team's social media accounts (@lipscombwbb on IG and @lipscomb_wbb on X) for the most up-to-date information on Lipscomb women's basketball.