SAVANNAH, Ga.- Savannah State scored the first 11 points of the game but had to hold off a furious rally by Lane in a 80-74 win over the Dragons, in a game played on Monday night in Tiger Arena.

Lane trailed by as many as 19 in the second quarter and went into intermission down 42-25.

SSU led 55-38 with three minutes left in the third quarter but the Dragons finished the quarter with a 9-1 run to enter the fourth quarter down by nine.

Savannah State saw their 60-51 fourth quarter lead dwindle to 63-62 with 5:18 remaining but a pair of free throws by Amani Hamilton, a free throw by Sanai Chisolm and a layup by K'yla Hankerson extend the Lady Tigers advantage to 68-62 at the 3:47 mark.

A 3-pointer by Lane cut their deficit to 68-67 with 2:51 showing on the clock but four consecutive free throws by Mya Byrd gave SSU a 72-67 cushion.

The Dragons were able to get as close as five in the final seconds but two free throws apiece by Byrd and Hamilton proved to be the difference down the stretch as Savannah State improved to 4-0 at home.

Hamilton had her second straight double double with 23 points and 11 rebounds.

Byrd had a game-high 24 points for SSU, making five 3-pointers and going 9 of 10 from the free throw line. Hankerson added ten points.

The Lady Tigers raced out to a 11-0 lead and didn't allow Lane to score a point until 4:30 was left in the first quarter. The Dragons were held without a field goal until the 4:15 mark of the opening quarter.

SSU led by as many as 13 in the first quarter before Lane rallied to get within 21-14.

Clinging to a 32-23 lead with just over three minutes left in the second quarter, Savannah State scored the next ten points to grab their largest lead of the night at 42-23 with 16 seconds left in the first half.

Savannah State shot 46.9 percent from the field and scored 20 points off 19 turnovers made by Lane.

Alayah Birch and Chisolm scored eight points apiece, Jayden Boykin added six points and Jazmin Thornton made one point.

SSU improved to 6-4 overall and evened their SIAC record to 2-2 with the win.

The series with Lane started during the 1997-98 season and SSU now owns a 5-4 lead in the series.

Savannah State will close out the 2024 portion of their schedule on the road at Spring Hill (December 19) and Miles (Dec. 21).

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