TUSKEGEE, Ala. (January 31, 2010) - The Tigerettes playing, short-handed because of injuries, inched closer to the .500 mark with back-to-back home victories against Lane and Benedict after beginning the week with a road loss to Kentucky State in Frankfort, Ky.
Senior guard Keyonnia Cook and sophomore forward Nancy Aragbaye, both starters, underwent surgery last week after tearing their ACLs and freshman forward Amelia Dorton underwent surgery for a torn meniscus. Cook and Aragbye are out for the season. Dorton could return for the SIAC tournament March 3-7.
"Even though we have players, we're having to demand more from them,'' Coach Belinda Roby says. "We've had to step up. We're still waiting on some to step up. Never the less, we still won some games. It was a tough week. All the games were close.''
The Tigerettes dropped a 59-58 decision to Kentucky State Jan. 26 but rebounded to beat Lane 70-62 and Benedict 49-45 at the James Center. The victories improved their overall record to 8-9. The Tigerettes are 8-4 in the SIAC.
The Tigerettes went down to defeat against Kentucky State when Kiarra Morgan made the second of two free throws with 24 seconds left in the game. Kentucky State led by 18 points in the first half before the Tigerettes rallied. The free throws were Kentucky State's only points in the final 90 seconds. The Lady Thorobreds didn't have a field goal in the last 2:16.
The Tigerettes shot just 28% from the field (21-for-75). But they were able to stay in the game on the strength of their defense and rebounding. They scored 19 points off 19 Kentucky State turnovers and outrebounded the Lady Thorobreds 52-46. Precious Friend was the only Tigerette to score in double figures. She had 10 points.
The Tigerettes faced Lane at the James Center Thursday in a contest originally scheduled for Jackson, Tenn. The game was moved to Tuskegee when Lane experienced problems with its on-campus basketball facility and Oman Arena in downtown Jackson was not available.
The Tigerettes held Lane to just two points on a pair of field goals over the last three minutes to secure the victory. The Tigerettes dominated the paint. They outrebounded Lane 66-49 and had 22 offensive rebounds, which led to 20 second chance points.
Alicia Barnes, Jennifer Anoka and Tequila Martin each had a double-double for the Tigerettes. Martin had 14 points and 12 rebounds; Anoka had 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Barnes had 10 points and 13 rebounds. .
The Tigerettes closed out the week with a heart-stopping victory over Benedict Saturday at the James Center. They scored four points in the final 44 seconds to pull out the victory. Anoka's lay-up with 31 seconds left broke a 45-all tie, and Era Russell made a pair of free throws with 12 seconds remaining to put the game away.
To close out that game was really good,'' Roby says. "We beat a tough Benedict team.''
The Tigerettes have won four of their last five games.
"We're a young team,'' Roby says. "We seem to be getting better. Our defense is definitely getting better. Some of the things we've been teaching are finally showing up. They're catching on. I like our progress. If we can keep everybody healthy, we'll be okay.''
