SAVANNAH, Ga.- Fresh off of their first loss of the season, the Savannah State University women's basketball team bounced back on November 27, 2023 with a 73-62 victory over Central State University, in a game played in Tiger Arena.
 
The win improved SSU to 3-1 overall and evened their conference record to 1-1.
 
Mya Byrd and Nya Allen paved the way for the Lady Tigers by hitting three 3-pointers each. Byrd finished the contest with 22 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals while Allen had 19 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
 
Central State led 5-4 but SSU responded with a 9-0 run that was started by a 3-pointer from Jashiyah Jones and followed by jumpers from Amari Heard and Allen and a layup by Heard with 3:59 left in the opening quarter.
 
Savannah State led 16-9 after the first ten minutes of action.
 
Central State started the second quarter with a 3-pointer to slice their deficit to 16-12 but a 3-pointer by Byrd got the Lady Tigers a 7-point cushion. The Marauders scored a basket to get within 5 but back-to-back 3-pointers by Byrd put SSU up 25-14 with 7:30 left in the first half.
 
The Marauders were able to get as close as 25-18 with 6:45 showing.
 
Savannah State was ahead by 9 with just under three minutes remaining and used a 7-0 spurt to go ahead by 16 (41-25) before CSU's Camryn Nadir hit a 3-pointer with 21 seconds left. During Savannah State's run, Ta'Quasia Lampkin hit two free throws, Allen nailed a 3-pointer and Amani Hamilton hit a pair of free throws.
 
SSU led 41-28 at the half.
 
CSU opened the second half with a 22-6 run that gave them a 50-47 edged with 2:14 left in the third quarter. The Marauders ended the quarter leading 52-49 as they made 47.6 percent of their shots from the floor while the Lady Tigers made just 3 of 16 shots from the floor and missed all four of their 3-point attempts.
 
Central State led by five early in the fourth quarter but never could put SSU away.
 
Down 60-56 with 6:07 remaining, Savannah State closed out the contest with 15 consecutive points during a 17-2 run as Central State made five turnovers and only made one field goal.
 
In a game that featured one tie and six lead changes, the final stats were similar.
 
SSU shot 34.8 percent from the floor, made 43.3 percent of their 3-point shots and 74.1 percent of their free throws while getting 49 rebounds. Central State shot 33.8 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from beyond the arc and making 60 percent of their free throws. The Marauders had 47 rebounds.
 
Lampkin added 9 points and 8 rebounds for Savannah State. Rounding out the Lady Tiger scoring was Hamilton (8), Heard (6), Jaqcuece Alston (4), Jones (3) and Ja'Siiyah Holmes (2).
 
Naomi Shorts had 15 points for Central State (1-6, 0-2 SIAC).
 
Savannah State will close their three-game home-stand with a non-conference game against Georgia Southwestern State on December 2 at Tiger Arena at 2 p.m.