SAVANNAH, Ga. – Savannah State University women's basketball team (4-23, 1-14 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) fell to North Carolina Central University (9-19, 7-8 MEAC) 74-61 Monday in Tiger Arena in the home finale.
 
Junior forward Kaylee Allen nearly missed on a double-double with a game-high 25 points and a game-high nine rebounds and a game-high four steals while shooting 7-for-16 from the floor, while freshman forward Kayla Vance added eight points and seven rebounds.
 
North Carolina Central scored 15 of the first 19 points in the game to take an 11-point lead, 15-4, with 5:54 remaining in the first quarter, but the Lady Tigers scored nine of the next 12 points to cut the lead to five points, 18-13, with 1:09 left.  The Eagles scored the final four points of the quarter to take a first-quarter lead of nine points, 22-13.
 
After an Eagle layup to increase the lead to 11 points, 24-13, with 9:22 remaining in the second quarter, the Lady Tigers scored 12 of the next 14 points to cut the lead to a point, 26-25, with 6:13 left.  North Carolina Central scored seven of the next nine points to increase the lead to five points, 33-28, with 58 seconds left, but Savannah State scored the final three points to cut the halftime deficit to two points, 33-31.
 
Savannah State scored the first six points of the third quarter to take a four-point lead, 37-33, with 7:39 remaining in the quarter, but North Carolina Central scored 16 of the final 28 points to take an eight-point third quarter lead, 53-45.
 
North Carolina Central scored 12 of the first 17 points of the fourth quarter to increase the lead to 15 points, 65-50, with 7:20 remaining in the quarter, but the Lady Tigers scored the next four points to cut the lead to 11 points, 65-54, with 6:32 left.  The Eagles outscored SSU 9-7 during the rest of the quarter for the 13-point win.
 
The Eagles were led by Rodneysha Martin and Kieche White with 14 points each, while Caira Benton added 12 points and five rebounds and Paulina Afriyie added 11 points.
 
The Lady Tigers travel to Orangeburg, S.C., to face South Carolina State University in the final game of the regular season Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
 
Newspaper Box Score
North Carolina Centr vs Savannah State
02/26/18 6 p.m. at Savannah, Ga. (Tiger Arena)
At Savannah, Ga. (Tiger Arena)
NORTH CAROLINA CENTR 74, SAVANNAH STATE 61
NORTH CAROLINA CENTR (9-19, 7-8 MEAC)
MARTIN,Rodneysha 5-10 2-2 14; WHITE,Kieche 4-14 2-2 14; BENTON,Caira 5-7 2-3
12; AFRIYIE,Paulina 4-4 3-6 11; BLOW,Jada 3-6 0-0 8; MCCAIN,Deja 1-2 4-4 6;
CALHOUN,Jayla 2-5 0-0 4; HEWITT,Darria 1-2 1-2 3; MORTON,Kierona 1-2 0-0 2;
ADAMS,Dominique 0-0 0-0 0; THOMPSON,Alyssa 0-2 0-0 0; OLIVER-ALEXANDER,Sam
0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-56 14-19 74.
SAVANNAH STATE (4-24, 1-15 MEAC)
ALLEN,Kaylee 7-16 10-13 25; VANCE,Kayla 3-4 2-4 8; FARMER,Nadia 2-6 0-0 6;
MOTON,Heniaya 3-6 0-0 6; GALLISHAW,Sabree 3-7 0-0 6; RUSSELL,Praise 1-2 2-2
4; ANDERSON,Jacqueline 1-3 2-2 4; BARTLETT,Jazmine 1-11 0-0 2;
Williams,Cortney 0-0 0-0 0; Whitehead,Johnna 0-1 0-0 0; JOHNSON,Teyah 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 21-56 16-21 61.
North Carolina Centr..........   22   11   20   21  -   74
Savannah State................   13   18   14   16  -   61
3-point goals--North Carolina Centr 8-21 (WHITE,Kieche 4-9; BLOW,Jada 2-5;
MARTIN,Rodneysha 2-5; OLIVER-ALEXANDER,Sam 0-2), Savannah State 3-13
(FARMER,Nadia 2-5; ALLEN,Kaylee 1-3; MOTON,Heniaya 0-2; ANDERSON,Jacqueline
0-1; BARTLETT,Jazmine 0-2). Fouled out--North Carolina Centr-None, Savannah
State-None. Rebounds--North Carolina Centr 38 (MCCAIN,Deja 7), Savannah
State 31 (ALLEN,Kaylee 9). Assists--North Carolina Centr 17 (WHITE,Kieche
5), Savannah State 8 (RUSSELL,Praise 4). Total fouls--North Carolina Centr
21, Savannah State 17. Technical fouls--North Carolina
Centr-ADAMS,Dominique, Savannah State-ALLEN,Kaylee. A-871
 
Tigers Online
www.ssuathletics.com
Twitter | @savstatetigers
Facebook | Instagram
YouTube | Pinterest