HOUSTON – The HCU women's basketball team took a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter and senior
Tiffany Tullis pulled down a career-high 20 rebounds but it wasn't enough to stave off a Tarleton State comeback as the Huskies dropped a 48-42 decision in Sharp Gym on Tuesday evening.
Tarleton State (3-3) took an early 4-2 advantage but the Huskies (1-4) kept the visitors off the board for the final 6:18 of the first quarter, leading 9-4 heading into the second. The Texans roared back into the lead with a quick 11-0 run to open the second quarter that included a pair of back-to-back threes by Miannah Little to go up 15-11. HCU responded, however, with a layup by Tullis followed by consecutive triples out of the hands of
Erin Maguire and
Jo Oly for a 19-15 lead at the 4:27 mark. Tarleton scored the last four points of the half and held a 23-21 lead at the break.
Tullis pulled the Huskies even again early in the third quarter but the Texans answered right away with a jumper by Little. That sparked a nine-point run by the HCU, however, with
Kierra Prim providing six of those points, and the Huskies led 32-25 with three minutes to play in the quarter before ultimately taking a 36-29 advantage into the fourth.
Tarleton scored the first seven points of the fourth, holding HCU scoreless for the first 4:40 until Tullis made a driving layup to go back ahead by two. Oly made one of two free throw attempts nearly a minute later for a 39-36 lead before the Texans went on an 8-1 run to lead, 44-40, with under two minutes to go. With just 51 seconds remaining, Oly hit a shot in the paint to cut it back down to two followed by a defensive stop on the other end and possession with 23 seconds left. Tullis missed a contested layup attempt with 10 seconds on the clock and the Texans hit their free throws from their en route to the six-point victory.
Tullis' 20 rebounds are the most by an HCU player since Anna Strickland set the program record for rebounds in a single game when she pulled down 31 in a Southland Conference Tournament game against Lamar in 2016. The senior finished with a double-double of 10 points and 20 rebounds, surpassing her previous career-high of 14. She finished the night shooting 5-of-9 from the floor and also had a pair of blocked shots.
Oly also put up a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds while also registering two blocked shots, two assists and two steals. Prim added eight points while
Victoria Dixon scored seven and Maguire had six.
For the fifth time in as many games this season the Huskies won the battle of the boards, holding a 40-30 advantage over the visitors. HCU shot 39.5 percent (15-of-38) from the floor while Tarleton finished at 29.5 percent (18-of-61). The Huskies were undone, in part, by 23 turnovers compared to just nine by the Texans.
The Huskies are right back on their home floor this coming Sunday, Dec. 1, at 3:00 p.m. when they host Southwestern.
