Box Score
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Savannah State sophomore Jasmine Norman scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds in a 53-67 loss to Bethune-Cookman Monday evening in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Leading the Lady Wildcats, Rene Chastity Taylor scored a career-high 27 points in the win. The Lady Tigers fall to 7-19 overall and 2-11 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Bethune-Cookman improves to 12-13 and 7-6 in conference play.

The teams were neck-and-neck in the opening minutes of the game. SSU senior Erin Hogue drained a jumper with 15:20 on the clock to give the Lady Tigers a 6-3 edge. Hogue ended with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Cookman regained the lead with a good layup from Sharnese Neal three minutes later for a 7-6 advantage. Charmaine Greene sank a jump shot with 11:35 on the clock to give SSU a 7-8 edge.

On a good free-throw from Hogue, the game was tied at 11 with 7:35 to play. The Lady Wildcats then broke the back-and-forth with a 14-2 run.

Taylor capped the run with a jump shot at the 4:27 mark to give Bethune-Cookman a 25-13 lead. SSU was unable to answer the massive offensive push from the Lady Wildcats, scoring only six points in the final minutes of the half.

Taylor drained a 3-pointer with 21 seconds to play to give the Lady Wildcats a 33-19 lead into the locker room. Cookman shot 50 percent from the floor in the first period, and 54.5 from the charity strip.

SSU managed a 28.6 percent clip from the field and 50 percent from the free-throw line. Hogue led the Lady Tigers with seven points in the half, while Taylor led the floor with 12 points.

Cookman held the momentum into the second half jumping out to a 20-point lead, 46-26, with 14:39 to play in the second half.

Norman sparked a run for the Lady Tigers with 9:38 to play, finishing off a layup cutting the Lady Wildcats lead to 53-34.

The Lady Tigers proceeded on a 9-0 run in the subsequent four minutes, capped by a jump shot from Blessing Uba. Uba dropped eight points and grabbed six rebounds in the game.

The run cut Cookman's lead to 11 points, 55-44, with 5:01 to play. BCU went up by 14 three minutes later, before SSU went on second big run.

Norman drained a layup that started a 6-2 run, as Uba and Jerryshia Williams sank two free-throws apiece to cut into the Lady Wildcats lead 50-59 with 1:46 showing.

It was the closest the Lady Tigers would come to Cookman's lead as the home team closed out the final minute with an 8-3 run for the final score.

SSU shot 30.6 percent from the field and 65.0 percent from the charity strip, while Cookman outpaced the Lady Tigers with a 51.1 percent effort from the field and 52.9 percent from the free-throw line.

The Lady Tigers return to action this coming Saturday with a rematch against North Carolina Central in Durham, North Carolina. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.