Box Score
SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Savannah State women's basketball squad got within one point of Florida A&M's lead in the last five minutes, but were unable to finish as the Lady Rattlers pulled away for a 59-49 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) win in Tiger Arena, Saturday evening.

Erin Hogue led the Lady Tigers in the loss with her seventh (fourth consecutive) double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Jazmin Thomas, Andrietta Thomas and Jasmine Norman all followed with seven points each.

The scoring was not as balanced for Florida A&M, as Jasmine Grice led with 25 points, followed by Kimberly Sparkman with 20. No other Lady Rattler scored over five points.

A slow start led to a 2-1 SSU lead in the first three minutes of action. Grice gave the Lady Rattlers their first lead with a 3-pointer at the 16:40 mark.  Andrietta Thomas hit a trey two minutes later to knot the game up at 7 with 14:57 showing.

The Lady Rattlers saw a three point lead diminish as Hogue sank a layup, and then moments later added two good free-throws for an 11-10 SSU lead with 10:28 to play.

With 9:01 to play, Florida A&M took a 14-12 advantage on a jump shot from Grice. The points sparked a 7-0 run that put the visitors up by nine, 21-12, with six minutes to play. Norman responded with a good 3-pointer to cut the Lady Rattlers lead to seven, 23-16.

Florida A&M responded point-for-point with SSU, to take a 28-19 lead with 1:37 to play. Andrietta Thomas sank a jumper 10 seconds later for a 28-21 FAMU advantage and 1:21 to play. The score held into the locker room as both teams committed several turnovers in the final minute of the half.

The Lady Tigers shot 29.4 percent in the first half, but were 4-for-7 (57.1 percent) from the charity strip. Florida A&M went 7-for-22 (31.8 percent) from the field and 45.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Jazmin Thomas hit a short jump shot to cut the visitors lead to 28-26 with 17:20 to play in the second half. Florida A&M extended that lead to four points a few minutes later, but Andrietta Thomas sank a layup with 10:48 to play for a 35-33 SSU lead.

The Lady Rattlers fired back with a 5-0 run for a 40-35 advantage with 8:10 to play. Jasmine Kirkland sank two free-throws at the 4:30 mark, and Norman added a layup to cut the visitors lead to 44-43.

Florida A&M then jumped out to a 55-45 advantage with a 10-2 run in the subsequent three minutes. Despite a strong effort, SSU struggled to bounce back as Grice set the final score with two good free-throws.

SSU shot at a 29.6 percent clip from the floor overall in the contest, and 63.6 percent from the free-throw line. FAMU managed a 31.7 percent clip from the field, and 65.2 percent from the charity strip. Savannah State beat the Lady Rattlers on the boards, grabbing 49 to the visitors 42. Turnovers cost the Lady Tigers as they committed 20 to FAMU's nine.

The Lady Tigers return to action Monday evening with a MEAC matchup against Bethune-Cookman. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. in Tiger Arena.

NOTES:
This was the 17th game between SSU and the Lady Rattlers. FAMU now holds a 16-1advantage over the Lady Tigers, historically. SSU head coach Cedric Baker is 1-15 against FAMU.
 
Senior Erin Hogue has emerged as the points (194) and rebounds (153) leader after junior point guard Ezinne Kalu suffered a season-ending knee injury in December.