Women's Basketball 2/1/2014 11:42:00 PM

Women’s Basketball Drives Past Bethune-Cookman

Box Score

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Lead by senior Ezinne Kalu, who scored a season-high 30 points, the Lady Tigers beat Bethune-Cookman 71-64 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) game in Daytona Beach, Florida on Saturday.

Savannah State improves to 6-2 in the conference and share second place overall with Coppin State. SSU is 13-9 on the season, the second best overall record in the program's NCAA Division I history (since 2002-03).

SSU edged by Cookman 58-54 in the team's first meeting this season. The Lady Wildcats fall to 6-15 overall and 3-6 in the conference.

Joining Kalu in double-digits, Jasmine Kirkland racked up 13 points, going 6-for-8 from the field, while Jasmine Norman tacked on 10 points.

Norman sank 6-of-8 free-throw attempts. She leads the team in free-throw percentage (75.4%). Jerryshia Williams and Charmaine Greene each had six rebounds for the Lady Tigers.

Shakeyia Colyer led the Lady Wildcats with 19 points, while Chastity Rene Taylor added 16 points. Kailyn Williams led the field in rebounds with 10.

SSU came out of the gate slow as Cookman jumped out to an 11-7 lead in the opening five minutes.

Kirkland opened a 9-0 run for SSU with a good jumper at the 15:08 mark. Kalu capped the run with a layup, lifting SSU to a 16-11 lead with 13:35 to play in the first half.

Cookman responded with their own run to tie the game up at 23 with 9:15 to play.

The Lady Tigers then opened a 13-2 run in the following six minutes for a 36-24 lead with 3:33 to play. SSU maintained the double-digit lead into the locker room. Kenyata Hendrix drained a 3-pointer and Kirkland sank a jump shot for a 41-27 SSU lead at the half.

The Lady Tigers scored 20 points in the paint and 12 off turnovers in the first half. They shot 50 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from the 3-point line and 66.7 percent from the charity strip in the first half. Kalu racked up 18 of her 30 points in the first period.

SSU continued the double-digit lead for the first 11:57 of the second half. Cookman opened a 7-0 run midway through to cut SSU's lead to 50-55 with 7:56 to play.

SSU responded in kind, jumping back out to a double-digit lead in the waning minutes. Hendrix sank two good free-throws with 1:03 to play, lifting the Lady Tigers to a 70-58 advantage. The Lady Wildcats went on a 5-1 to close the game out.

The Lady Tigers continue the season on Monday with a visit to Tallahassee, Florida to play Florida A&M for the second time this season. They beat the Lady Rattlers in Tiger Arena 80-68 on January 20. Tipoff on Monday is set for 6 p.m.

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