Women’s Basketball Falls To Liberty; Four Lady Tigers Finish In Double Digits

Box Score

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – On the closing day of the 2013 Seton Hall Thanksgiving Classic Saturday, Savannah State fell to the Liberty Lady Flames 79-89, despite a 17 point lead at the half and four players in double-digits.

SSU senior Ezinne Kalu led the way with a season-high 28 points, followed by Jerryshia Williams, who netted a career-high 14 points. Jasmine Norman registered 11 points, while Tiyonda Davis added 10 and led SSU in rebounds with six.

Kalu tied her own career record for 3-pointers made in a single game, sinking 5-of-8 attempts from beyond the arch. The Newark, New Jersey native was named to the All-Tournament Team.

The Lady Tigers opened the contest with a 56.7 percent clip from the floor and a 71.4 percent clip from the 3-point line in the first half. The team hit 5-of-7 3-point attempts and 17-of-30 field goal attempts for a 17 point, 52-35, lead into the locker room.

Out of the locker room, SSU went up by 16 points on a layup from Davis, but the Lady Flames were undeterred as they opened a massive 16-4 run in the subsequent five minutes to cut SSU's lead to two points, 58-56, with 14:18 to play.

With 6:55 to play, Liberty's Mickayla Sanders sank a jump shot to tie the game for only the second time at 69 all.

The Lady Flames were led Ashley Rininger who recorded a double-double with 29 points and 11 rebounds. Emily Frazier added 16 points, while Katelyn Adams scored 12.

Liberty improved their shooting percentage to 62.2 percent from the floor in the second half, from 41.4 percent in the opening period.
In the final six minutes, it was all Liberty as they jumped out to a 13-point lead with 2:04 to play behind a good 3-pointer from Simone Brown.

SSU failed to answer down the stretch as the Lady Tigers were held to only 27 points in the second half. Liberty put up 54 points in the second and outrebounded SSU 42-24.

SSU falls to 3-5 and are on a four game losing skid after an upset win over Texas San Antonio in a tournament last week. Liberty gets only their second win of the year, improving to 2-5 overall.

The Lady Tigers continue a season-high 10-game road stretch with a nonconference match against Longwood University on December 15 in Farmville, Virginia.

SSU plays Charleston Southern, Alabama State and South Carolina on the road before returning home to face Troy University on December 29. Tip-off in Tiger Arena is set for 7 p.m.

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