SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Savannah Lady Tigers struggled on both ends of the court in Thursday's Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) game with Spring Hill, falling 65-79 in their third conference game of the year.
 
SSU drops to 4-3 overall this season and 1-3 in conference play. Spring Hill improved to 3-8 and 2-1 on the season. The Lady Tigers return to action on Saturday with a SIAC game against Tuskegee University. Tip-off in Tiger Arena is set for 1 p.m.
 
Spring Hill senior Elise Reilly had an exceptional offensive night, leading the field with 27 points and draining 8 of 19 3-point attempts. Forward Tiffany Valentine was close behind with 21 points, going 7 for 14 from the field.
 
The Lady Tigers were led by Robbi Allen in her first game this season after becoming eligible this week. Allen had 16 points on the night. Newcomer Ta'Kyle Austin and returner Azhana Maxwell each added 12 for the Lady Tigers.
 
For most of the opening quarter, the game was a back-and-forth close affair. Spring Hill, however, pulled away in the final minutes. Reilly drained back-to-back treys to open an 8-0 run for the visitors in the final minutes. The Lady Badgers led 23-10 after one and then extended that lead to 13 points by halftime, leading 40-27.
 
Savannah State cut the visitors double-digit lead to only seven points late in third quarter behind a good jumper from Allen. But it was all Spring Hill in the final quarter as the visitors pushed back out to double digit lead and held on through the end of regulation.
 
The Lady Badgers shot 40% from the field and 75% from the free-throw line. They out-rebounded SSU 54-44, but had 20 costly turnovers. SSU shot 32% from the field and 66.7% from the line.