Box Score
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – In the opening game of the 24^th annual University of Southern Mississippi Thanksgiving Classic, the Savannah State women's basketball squad fell to Southern Miss 38-51 in Reed Green Coliseum in front of a crowd of 783, Friday evening.

Both teams committed several costly errors in the first three minutes as the game went scoreless. SSU's Erin Hogue dropped two free-throws to break the tie giving the Lady Tigers a 2-0 lead with 16:57 on the clock.

Lady Eagle Caron Brown answered with a jumper to tie the game at two. Andrietta Thomas answered on the ensuing SSU possession with a jump shot that sparked a 14-0 run for the Lady Tigers.

Ezinne Kalu sank a short jumper to give the Lady Tigers a 16-2 advantage with 10:09 left in the first half. Southern Miss. Bounced back with a 12-0 run that cut SSU's lead to two points, 14-16, with 4:11 showing.

Kalu sank two shots from the charity strip to extend the Lady Tigers lead to 18-14 with 3:03 left in the opening half. Tiarra Pollnitz answered a minute later with two good free-throws to tie the game up at 18.

A good jumper from Southern Miss gave the home team their first lead of the game, 20-18, with 1:48 left till the half. The score held into the locker room.
The Lady Eagles opened the second half with an 8-0 run for a 28-18 advantage at 17:57. SSU answered with a jumper from Jasmine Kirkland, and two good free throws from Andrietta Thomas.

The Lady Eagles continued to push taking an 11-point lead, 33-22, with 15:21 showing. Kirkland sparked an 8-2 run for the Lady Tigers with a short jumper, cutting the home teams lead to five, 35-30, with 10:12 left to play.

Southern Miss extended their lead again to 11 points after some costly SSU turnovers created scoring opportunities for the Lady Eagles. The Lady Tigers committed 34 turnovers in the match, but outrebounded the home team 47-38.

Trailing 32-43 with 6:04 to play, Blessing Uba sank a  jump shot, and Kalu followed with a 3-pointer to cut the Lady Eagles lead to six points, 43-37, in the waning minutes of the game.

Southern Miss sealed up their first win of the season on an 8-1 run in the final three minutes of play. The Lady Tigers fall to 1-3 with the loss. Southern Miss improves to 1-2.

The Lady Tigers shot at a 27.7 percent clip from the floor, and 66.7 percent from the charity strip. Kalu led the team with nine points, going 3-for-7 from the field and 2-for-4 from the free-throw line. Kirkland followed Kalu, going 3-for-7 from the field with seven points. Erin Hogue led in rebounds with 16.

Jerontay Clemons led the Lady Eagles with 16 points, hitting 7 of 14 attempts. Tiarra followed with 15, and Tanecka Carey added 10 points. Southern Miss shot 35 percent from the floor.

Savannah State closes the tournament with a consolation game against Talladega College, Saturday November 23 at 2 p.m. Saturday's game will be the fourth in a five game road stretch for the Lady Tigers, who return home on December 1 to open Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play against Norfolk State University. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. in Tiger Arena.