SAVANNAH, Ga.- Mya Byrd came off the bench to score a career-high 28 points to lead Savannah State to a 76-64 win over visiting Edward Waters in Tiger Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Along with scoring a career-best 28 points, Byrd also made a career-high six 3-pointers against EWU. The senior guard also hit 6-of-7 free throw attempts and finished the game with five assists, three rebounds and three steals.

The crowd of 975 saw Savannah State earn their fourth straight win by out-scoring Edward Waters 23-15 in the fourth quarter to break open a close game.

SSU led by three in the first quarter but a jumper followed by a layup by K'lya Hankerson put the Lady Tigers ahead 18-11 with 2:44 left in the quarter.

Edward Waters finished the quarter with two free throws to cut SSU's lead to 18-13.

Savannah State outscored EWU 22-19 in the second quarter by making 9-of-11 shots from the floor (81.8 percent) and 3-of-4 shots from beyond the arc (75 percent).

SSU led 29-20 with 6:13 left in the quarter before Edward Waters pulled to within two (31-29) with 2:19 showing on the clock.

The Lady Tigers responded with a free throw by Jayden Boykin, a 3-pointer by Byrd and a layup by Alayah Birch to go ahead 37-29 as they went into the half with a 40-32 edge.

A pair of free throws by Hankerson to start the third quarter gave Savannah State a 42-32 advantage but Edward Waters (11-7, 7-6 SIAC) kept chipping away at their deficit and closed their gap to 46-43 with just under six minutes left.

Back-to-back layups by Byrd and Birch extended the SSU lead to 50-43 and the Lady Tigers would go into the fourth quarter with a 53-49 edge.

In the final quarter of play, Savannah State would shoot 50 percent  (8 of 16) from the floor and 57.1 percent (4 of 7) from beyond the arc as they would lead by 14 with 3:20remaining.

Early in the fourth quarter, Edward Waters would make the score 55-52 but SSU countered with a 3-pointer by Byrd, a layup by Boykin and another 3-pointer by Byrd for a 63-52 advantage at the 6:36 mark.

After Edward Waters got within single digits (63-55), Savannah State used a 7-1 spurt that was keyed by two free throws and a 3-pointer by Byrd and a jumper by Birch for a 70-56 cushion.

SSU's lead never dipped below ten the rest of the game as they improved to 10-8 overall and 6-6 in the SIAC.

Birch had 16 points and five assists for Savannah State while Hankerson had a career-high 11 rebounds before leaving the game with a little over eight minutes left.

Jazmin Thornton and Myasia Jones scored nine points each while Boykin and Hankerson chipped in seven points apiece.

Savannah State will travel to Allen on February 4.

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