TALLADEGA – The Lady Tornadoes of Talladega College won their home opener against Wesley College, 74-65 on Saturday at Callanan Gymnasium.

The Lady Tornadoes came out strong, rushing to a 13-3 lead in the first five minutes of play. The Lady Warriors didn’t have an answer for the home team in the first half and went into the locker room trailing 38-24 at halftime.

Wesley didn’t give up and began chipping away at the Lady Tornadoes’ lead in the second half. Strong shooting from junior Jessica Houston pulled the Lady Warriors to within eight points with 12:04 to go in the game. A few minutes lade Houston hit a shot to draw the visiting squad to within six points of TC.

Just when it looked like Wesley would challenge the Lady Tornadoes, the home team made the necessary plays to extend the lead. Strong shooting from Tamiko Rounds and Morgan Bennett helped the Lady Tornadoes secure the victory.

“The shooting has been inconsistent,” Talladega College head coach Romeo Lagmay said. “The last game at Tuskegee we shot very well. Prior to that we didn’t shoot well. Tonight we just were not in rhythm.”

Rounds led the team in scoring with 19 points. Bennett added 14. Whitney Love put up 17 points while Ebony Richardson chipped in 12.

“Tamiko Rounds, she and Morgan have been monsters on the boards,” Lagmay said. “They’ve got a knack for getting rebounds.”

Houston led all scorers with 36 points while Courtney Wade contributed 15 for the Lady Warriors.

TC returns to action on Friday when the Lady Tornadoes travel to Nashville to take on Cumberland University.