Women's Basketball 1/18/2014 7:37:00 PM

Women’s Basketball Edges Out Cookman In Last Minute Thriller

Box Score

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Lady Tigers quelled a late surge from Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) rival Bethune-Cookman in Tiger Arena on Saturday, beating the visitors 58-54 in the last minute and half of play.

Led by senior Ezinne Kalu, the Lady Tigers held a tight lead on the Lady Wildcats for most of the game. With 1:45 to play in the contest, Cookman tied the game for the first time behind a good 3-pointer from Kendra Cooper.

Kalu sank a layup in the paint with 17 seconds on the clock, drew the foul and finished an old fashioned 3-point play with a good free-throw to lift SSU to a 55-52 lead.

With 10 seconds to play, Kalu again went to the basket, sank the layup, drew the foul and lifted the Lady Tigers to a 58-52 lead with 7 seconds to play. Cookman's Kailyn Williams sank a layup with a second to play for the final score.

Kalu led the field with 17 points, followed closely by Jasmine Norman with 16 points. Tiyonda Davis tacked on 11 points and pulled down 8 rebounds for the Lady Tigers.

SSU improves to 10-8 on the season and 3-1 in conference play. The Lady Wildcats fall to 4-13 overall and 1-4 in the MEAC.
The Lady Tigers opened the game with a 7-0 run, opened by a 3-pointer from Norman. Williams scored the visitors first points at the 16:31 mark to break SSU's run.

With 6:25 to play, Bria Dorsey sank back-to-back free-throws, lifting SSU to an 18-8 advantage. In the final minutes of the first half, Cookman went on a 6-2 run to cut the Lady Tigers lead to only six points, 20-14, into the locker room.

Savannah State opened the second half behind a 5-0 run from Norman for a 25-14 lead. Two minutes later, Jasmine Kirkland sank a layup for a 12 point SSU advantage, 31-19.

Cookman's Chastity Rene Taylor drained a 3-pointer with 11:08 on the clock to open a 9-2 run from the visitors. Cooper sank two free-throws at the 9:01 mark, cutting SSU's lead to 33-31.

Copper drained her second 3-pointer of the half to cut SSU's lead to only one point, 35-34, two minutes later.

SSU regained their lead down the stretch, going up by seven points at the 3:50 mark behind a layup from Kalu. A back and forth battle from the charity strip and in the paint led Cookman to the tie the game with 1:45 to play.

Taylor led Lady Wildcats with 14 points, followed by Cooper with 11. Shakeyia Colyer and Taylor Houston each added 10 points.

SSU returns to action this Monday with a MEAC matchup in Tiger Arena against Florida A&M. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

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