SAVANNAH, Ga. – Junior center Tiyonda Davis led the Savannah State University women's basketball team with 14 points, eight rebounds and six blocks as the Lady Tigers (5-10, 2-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) defeated the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (3-13, 1-3 MEAC) in the MEAC Championship game rematch from last season in Tiger Arena Saturday.
 
Davis shot 7-for-10 from the field and added two assists.  Over the last two games, the Athens, Ga., native averaged 13.0 points per game on 13-for-17 (.765) shooting from the floor and 8.5 rebounds per game with 13 blocks, four assists and two steals.
 
Junior guard Taylor-Ashley Shaw added nine points on 4-for-6 shooting with three rebounds and three steals, while junior forward Jeremica Edwards and sophomore guard Lauryn Fields added eight points each.  Edwards shot 4-for-7 from the field with six rebounds, while Fields shot 3-for-4 from the floor with three assists.
 
Junior guard Kenyata Hendrix added seven points, three rebounds and team-best five assists, while sophomore guard Kilah Nixon added five points and three rebounds.
 
UMES opened the game scoring six of the first nine points to take a 3-point lead, 6-3, with 6:17 remaining in the first quarter, but the Lady Tigers scored the next seven points to take a four-point lead, 10-6, with 3:48 remaining.  After a Lady Hawk three-pointer to cut SSU's lead to a point, 10-9, with 3:48 left, the Lady Tigers scored the next seven points to increase their lead to eight, 17-9, at the 1:41 mark.  After a Lady Hawk made free throw, the Lady Tigers scored the next three points to increase their lead to 10, 20-10, with 13 seconds remaining.  A UMES layup with nine seconds cut SSU's lead to eight, 20-12, after one quarter of play.  Davis led SSU with six points on 3-for-3 shooting, while Hendrix added five points on 2-for-3 shooting.
 
The Lady Hawks opened the second quarter scoring five of the first seven points to cut SSU's lead to five, 22-17, with 6:54 remaining in the quarter, but the Lady Tigers scored the next four points to increase their lead to nine, 26-17, with 5:05 remaining.  After a UMES three-pointer, the Lady Tigers scored the next seven points to increase their lead to 13, 33-20, with 27 second remaining in the first half.  A Lady Hawk made three throw cut SSU's lead to 12, 33-21, at the half.  Davis led SSU with eight points on 4-for-5 shooting with four rebounds and two blocks during the first half, while Hendrix added seven points and three assists.
 
The Lady Tigers scored the first six points of the third quarter for an 18-point lead, 39-21, with 6:33 remaining in the third quarter.  UMES scored nine of the next 13 points to cut SSU's lead to 13, 43-30, with 1:56 left.  After a Lady Hawk made free throw and a Davis layup gave SSU a 16-point lead, 47-31, after three quarters of play.  Davis led SSU with six points, three rebounds and two blocks during the third quarter.
 
UMES opened the final quarter with layup to cut SSU's lead to 14, 47-33, with 7:55 remaining in the quarter, but the Lady Tigers scored the next four points to increase their lead to 18, 51-33, with 6:34 left.  The Lady Hawks scored the six of the next eight points to cut SSU's lead to 14, 53-39, at the 4:48 mark.  SSU scored seven of the final 10 points to win by 18 points.
 
The Lady Hawks were led by Taryana Kelly with eight points and nine rebounds, while Ciani Byrom and Keyera Eaton each added six points and Alexi Udoji added seven rebounds and four points.
 
The Lady Tigers finish their five-game homestand on Monday against Delaware State (4-12, 1-2 MEAC) at 6 p.m. in Tiger Arena.
 
Newspaper Box Score
Maryland E. Shore vs Savannah State
01/16/15 4 p.m. at Savannah, Ga. (Tiger Arena)
At Savannah, Ga. (Tiger Arena)
SAVANNAH STATE 60, MARYLAND E. SHORE 42
MARYLAND E. SHORE (3-13, 1-3 MEAC)
KELLY,Taryana 4-11 0-1 8; EATON,Keyera 2-6 1-2 6; BYROM,Ciani 1-7 3-4 6;
MARTIN,Ra'Jean 1-6 3-6 5; UDOJI,Alexis 1-4 2-4 4; SUBRITZKY,Moengaroa 1-8
2-2 4; BRYANT,Shauntesha 2-4 0-0 4; HICKS,Alexus 1-5 0-0 3; BURKE,TeAmber
1-5 0-0 2; THOMPSON,Taylor 0-1 0-0 0; SYE,Briana 0-2 0-0 0; TAYLOR,Chalyse
0-2 0-0 0. Totals 14-61 11-19 42.
SAVANNAH STATE (5-10, 2-2 MEAC)
DAVIS,Tiyonda 7-10 0-0 14; SHAW,Taylor-Ashley 4-6 1-2 9; EDWARDS,Jeremica
4-7 0-1 8; FIELDS,Lauryn 3-4 2-4 8; HENDRIX,Kenyata 2-7 2-3 7; NIXON,Kilah
2-7 1-1 5; YOUNG,Jada 2-5 0-0 4; WARREN,Rhianna 1-5 0-0 3;
RICHARDSON,Tanease 1-2 0-0 2; BUSH,Destini 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-54 6-11 60.
Maryland E. Shore.............   12    9   10   11  -   42
Savannah State................   20   13   14   13  -   60
3-point goals--Maryland E. Shore 3-19 (HICKS,Alexus 1-3; EATON,Keyera 1-2;
BYROM,Ciani 1-2; SUBRITZKY,Moengaroa 0-2; BRYANT,Shauntesha 0-1;
BURKE,TeAmber 0-3; THOMPSON,Taylor 0-1; TAYLOR,Chalyse 0-2; UDOJI,Alexis
0-2; MARTIN,Ra'Jean 0-1), Savannah State 2-7 (WARREN,Rhianna 1-2;
HENDRIX,Kenyata 1-3; NIXON,Kilah 0-1; YOUNG,Jada 0-1). Fouled out--Maryland
E. Shore-None, Savannah State-None. Rebounds--Maryland E. Shore 39
(KELLY,Taryana 9), Savannah State 39 (DAVIS,Tiyonda 8). Assists--Maryland E.
Shore 8 (SUBRITZKY,Moengaroa 3), Savannah State 17 (HENDRIX,Kenyata 5).
Total fouls--Maryland E. Shore 11, Savannah State 18. Technical
fouls--Maryland E. Shore-None, Savannah State-None. A-660
 
 
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