Women's Basketball 3/1/2015 11:30:00 PM

Hendrix Leads Lady Tigers To Important Win

Box Score

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Savannah State sophomore Kenyata Hendrix poured in 18 points on Saturday to lead women's basketball to a 55-52 win over South Carolina State, and the team's 11^th Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) win this season.

SSU eclipses last year's record setting 10-6 conference mark with the win. They improve to 16-10 on the season, and 7-6 on the road. They hold in second place in the MEAC standings behind five-time defending MEAC champion Hampton (12-2), who they beat 61-55 in January.

The Lady Bulldogs were looking to avenge a 53-61 loss to SSU in early February, in their final home game of the season, coming out strong with a 7-0 run in the opening three minutes.

Tiyonda Davis sank a layup to give SSU its first points at the 16:47 mark, and followed it with a short jumper and good free-throw to cut the home team's lead to 7-5. Davis finished the night with 16 points and seven rebounds. She was the only other Lady Tiger in double-digit figures.

Davis tied the game up for the first time with 13:01 to play in the first half with a layup, but S.C. State regained the lead on the ensuing possession with a good jumper from Kortney Williams.

Williams had a stellar outing on the night, leading the Lady Bulldogs with 16 points. She was the only Lady Bulldog to reach double-digits.

S.C. State continued to dominate midway through the opening half. Jasmine Coleman lifted S.C. State to a 23-17 lead, their largest advantage of the half, with a short jumper, with 6:07 to play.

Hendrix hit her third of four 3-pointers on the night, and added a layup on SSU's following two possessions to cut S.C. State's lead to 23-22 with 4:33 to play.

Davis tied it up with a good free-throw, and Jasmine Norman gave SSU their first lead of the game on a fast break layup with 3:32 to play.

The Lady Bulldogs responded with a 6-0 run to again take the advantage. SSU was unable to regain the lead in the half, but Davis ended the period with a layup in the last two seconds. The Lady Tigers went to the locker room down 29-33.

Davis and Hendrix ended the half in double digits, scoring 14 and 11 respectively. MEAC preseason player of the year, and current SSU point's leader Ezinne Kalu had an unusually impotent half, scoring no points in the opening period for the first time this year.

Kalu got her first points three minutes into the second period with two good free-throws that cut S.C. State's lead to 35-33.

The Lady Bulldogs led for most of the second half. In total minutes, S.C. State led the Lady Tigers for 30 of the games 40 minutes.

Hendrix hit her 4^th 3-pointer with 9:34 to play, giving SSU their first lead of the second half, 43-41. The trey from Hendrix opened a 9-2 run from the Lady Tigers that gave them their largest lead of the game.

Kalu managed her only field goal of the game at the end of the run, lifting SSU to a 49-43 advantage with 6:08 to play.

With 3:18 to play, Williams earned S.C. State their lead back with a short jumper. Norman regained the lead for SSU with a jumper from the corner. SSU led 51-50 with 1:30 to play.

Kalu got a timely steal with 12 seconds to play, forcing the Lady Bulldogs to foul her. She nailed both of the free-throws to give SSU a 53-50 lead.

On a Lady Bulldog's inbounds pass, Norman grabbed another timely steal and was promptly fouled. She sank both shots from the charity strip to give SSU the 55-50 lead with 5 seconds to play. Jasmine Coleman sank a pointless layup at the buzzer, as SSU held on to garner the close win.

The Lady Tigers lead the MEAC in steals, averaging 12.2 a game. Against South Carolina State, they racked up 11 steals. Nationally, the Lady Tigers are ranked third in steals per game.

SSU concludes the regular season with a home game against North Carolina Central on Monday, March 2, and a March 5 road game against Florida A&M.
With a single win, they can earn a first round bye in the MEAC Championship Tournament, slated for March 9-14 in Norfolk, Virginia.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#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

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

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