Women's Basketball 2/11/2015 11:20:00 AM

Women’s Basketball Escapes Coppin State

Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md. – Savannah State – the No. 1 scoring offense in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) – struggled from the field for most of an important conference game with Coppin State, but in the waning minutes the Lady Tigers pulled off an exciting overtime victory.

Coppin State's Genesis Lucas drained a good jump shot with 9:38 to play in the second half of Monday's game, lifting the Lady Eagles to a 42-32 lead. It was the home team's largest lead of the night.

SSU senior Jasmine Norman followed the basket with two good free-throws and a field goal to keep the Lady Tigers in the running. MEAC preseason player of the year Ezinne Kalu got a layup to sink with 6:39 to play, sparking a 12-2 run from SSU that gave them their first lead of the game since the 7:34 mark of the first period.

Lucas – who led Coppin State on the night with 16 points – tied the game for the third time with a jumper three minutes later. Kalu responded with a field goal, and Candice Beverly tied it up on CSU's ensuing possession.

Rhianna Warren sank a free-throw to lift SSU to a 53-52 lead with 2:13 to play, but Beverly again delivered for the Lady Eagles with a layup, giving the home team a one point lead with 1:26 to play.

A good free-throw from Lucas with 9 seconds to play lifted Coppin State to a 55-53 lead; however she missed the second one, opening the door for the Lady Tigers.

Kenyata Hendrix grabbed the rebound and took it down the floor. Hendrix tried to dump a pass into Tiyonda Davis on the run, but it was tipped by a Coppin State player.

Rhianna Warren caught the deflection and dropped it inside to Hendrix, who found her way into the paint. Hendrix sank the easy layup right at the buzzer and drew the foul, tying the game up as time ran out.

After some discussion from the referees, who were divided on the and 1 call, and a second look at the replay, Hendrix was sent to the line for the extra point attempt. She missed the free-throw sending the game into overtime.

SSU seized the opportunity to win the game, outscoring Coppin State 8-1 in the extra period for the final 63-56 victory and their seventh MEAC win of the season. They improve to 12-10 on the season and 7-3 in the MEAC, and take sole possession of second place in the standings, behind 8-2 Hampton.

Kalu led the field with 27 points on the night. Hendrix added 14, and Norman tacked on 12. Davis led the Lady Tigers in rebounds with 12.

The Lady Tigers had one of the worst shooting nights of the 2014-15 season. In the first half they shot 33.3 percent, hitting only 8-of-24 attempts from the field. They improved in the second half to a 40.6 percent clip; shooting 37.1 percent from the field on the night.

SSU outrebounded the Lady Eagles 44-38 and recorded 18 steals. Coppin State had 30 costly turnovers in the game, despite leading the game for 23 minutes.

SSU returns to Tiger Arena for a three-game, MEAC home stand that begins with S.C. State on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 4 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#2 Kenyata Hendrix: G; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#4 Jasmine Norman: G; 5' 9"; Senior

#11 Rhianna Warren: G; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#23 Ezinne Kalu: G; 5' 8"; Senior

#44 Tiyonda Davis: C; 6' 2"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#2 Kenyata Hendrix
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: G

#4 Jasmine Norman
: 5' 9"; Senior
: G

#11 Rhianna Warren
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: G

#23 Ezinne Kalu
: 5' 8"; Senior
: G

#44 Tiyonda Davis
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: C