SAVANNAH, Ga.- Savannah State snapped a 13-game losing streak with a 54-51 win over New Jersey Tech at Tiger Arena.
The Lady Tigers had not won a game since a 51-37 victory over Jacksonville on December 17, 2009.
Kym Stamps scored 10 points for SSU (9-17) but hit two key 3-pointers. Stamps hit a 3-pointer with 29 seconds left in regulation to pull SSU within 42-41 and made another 3-pointer to tie the game at 49 with 1:31 left in overtime.
Courtney Long led Savannah State with 17 points while Alisha Nelson had nine rebounds and five blocks.
Savannah State only made three field goals in the opening period but only trailed by nine points at the half. NJIT (8-12) jumped out to a 17-7 lead and led by as many as 11 before Long ended the half with two free throws. The Highlanders led 23-14 at intermission.
Long made a jumper to start the second half to slice SSU's deficit to seven but New Jersey Tech went ahead 27-16 with 16:31 remaining.
SSU answered with a 12-3 run to make the score 30-28 with 11:44 on the clock. Freshman Gabrielle Bennett scored six of her eight points during the run.
The Highlanders led by six with just over five minutes left.
Trailing 42-38 with 1:31 left, Stamps' 3-pointer cut SSU's deficit to one. After a NJIT free throw, Carlita Johnson made a layup for the Lady Tigers with nine seconds left to tie the game at 43 and send it into overtime.
In overtime, NJIT went up 47-43 but Savannah State tied the score at 49 when Stamps made a 3-pointer. The Highlanders went ahead by two but a 3-pointer by Crissa Jackson gave SSU a 52-51 edge with 55 seconds on the clock. Jackson sealed SSU's win with two free throws with nine seconds left. NJIT's Melanie Griffin missed a 3-pointer with one second left that would have tied the game.
NJIT won the rebounding battle 47 to 45 but made 28 turnovers. The Highlanders shot 33.9 percent from the floor but only made 1 of 17 3-point attempts.
Savannah State shot 27.1 percent from the floor and made 17 of 27 free throw attempts.
Jessica Gerald led NJIT with 16 points.
