Lady Tigers win, set up de facto title game
11/30/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 30, 2012
Box Score
Tennessee State rallied from down 14 in the first half to defeat Idaho 69-64 Friday on the second night of the 32nd Lady Griz Classic at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula.
The Lady Tigers (3-3), who were playing their first game of the tournament, set up a de facto championship game Saturday night against Montana, which defeated Idaho Thursday night, 76-65.
Because of the three-team makeup of the tournament field and the possibility of three teams going 1-1, no team champion will be declared.
Even so, Tennessee State made sure Saturday night's game will have a title-game feel despite falling behind big early.
Idaho (1-6) jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the opening three minutes and went up 19-5 when Connie Ballestero hit the Vandals' third three of the opening seven minutes.
That would be Idaho's largest lead of the game, and Tennessee State would creep to within four, 30-26, by halftime.
The Lady Tigers shot just 27.0 percent in the opening half, but it was what they were not doing that would be a key to their second-half rally. Tennessee State had just two turnovers at the break and finished with a mere seven for the game.
TSU pulled within two, 38-36, five minutes into the second half. With the lead they'd held since the first minute of the game being threatened, the Vandals answered with an 8-0 run, keyed by back-to-back threes from Christina Salvatore and Krissy Karr, to make it 46-36 with 13 minutes to play.
At the time it felt like a winning response, but Tennessee State, which will provide a number of challenges to Montana with its interior strength and quickness, would not be denied.
A basket in the paint by Simone Hopes tied it at 53 with 7:51 to play, and another basket in the lane, this one by Jasmin Shuler, gave Tennessee State its first lead of the game, 55-53 at 6:56.
The game's decisive stretch came around the four-minute mark. Salvatore's three for Idaho gave the Vandals what would be their final lead of the game, 60-59.
Jasmin Shuler answered with her own three for the Lady Tigers, one of just four TSU triples in the game, and Avery Jones made it 64-60, and Idaho never held the lead again.
The Vandals had two different possessions in the closing minutes when they were down a basket, but neither resulted in a tie game.
"I thought we gave up some baskets we shouldn't have given up, and I don't think we played smart at times, but I thought our kids played hard the entire ballgame," first-year TSU coach Larry Joe Inman said.
"We stayed focused, and I thought that was the big difference. That's important for any game you play, no matter who you play or where you play. You stay focused and where you need to be, mentally and physically, and you play hard all the time. I thought we did that tonight."
Hopes and Kesi Hess, both 5-10 seniors and both strong with the ball, had double-doubles for the Lady Tigers. Hopes led both teams with 16 points and added 11 boards. Hess had 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Shuler also reached double figures with 14 points for Tennessee State, which shot 41.0 percent in the second half to finish at 34.2 percent for the game.
Idaho had three players in double figures, but for the second straight night the Vandals hurt themselves with turnovers. They had six fewer than they had in Thursday night's loss to Montana but still twice as many as Tennessee State, a key stat in such a tight game.
Alyssa Charlston had 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, Karr had seven assists against just one turnover.
Montana and Tennessee State will tip off at 7 p.m. Saturday at Dahlberg Arena.
