The UST Golden Tigresses fell short of a comeback against championship rivals NU Lady Bulldogs, 69-75, in the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball tournament on Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Growling Tigresses almost erased a 20-point deficit but costly errors in the dying minutes of the game prevented them from taking the win.

Rookie Gin Relliquette led the scoring for the Tigresses with 12 points and two rebounds. Meanwhile, Bridgette Santos chalked 11 points built on three three-pointers.

Seven turnovers plagued the Tigresses in the opening quarter, preventing them from taking advantage of the momentum, trailing 16-24.

At the start of the second frame, UST went scoreless for three minutes but managed to keep up despite NU's Konateh towering presence, 30-41.

The Lady Bulldogs’ hounding defense forced UST to struggle in offense commiting seven more turnovers, increasing the deficit by 20 at the end of the third quarter, 42-62.

To start the final quarter, UST upped their pace with six straight fastbreak points courtesy of Relliquette and Rocel Dionisio, 48-64.

As NU committed turnovers down the stretch, the Tigresses capitalized, bringing the lead down by seven points courtesy of three straight three-point baskets by Karylle Sierba, Eka Soriano, and Kent Pastrana, 61-68.

Echoing last year's do-or-die finals moments, the Tigresses forced another turnover. However, Camille Clarin halted UST’s momentum with an and-1 play, pushing the score to 64-72.

With two minutes remaining, Pastrana made another clutch shot behind the arc, however, Clarin sealed the deal for NU with a go-ahead bucket, 69-75.

NU's Jainaba Konateh was a force inside the paint, logging 17 points and grabbing nine rebounds, while Angelica Surada went on with a double-double performance notching 14 points and 11 rebounds.

The Lady Bulldogs also outrebounded the Tigresses with 23 offensive boards compared to UST's 14.

UST now stands at a 3-1 record, while NU takes the solo lead in the standings with a flawless 4-0 record.

The Growling Tigresses will clash against the DLSU Lady Archers on Sunday, Sept. 29, at the same venue.