ORANGEBURG, SC – Seniors Marie Reed and Jenell Moore, in their last home appearance, combined for 43 points and 18 rebounds as South Carolina State snapped an eight-game losing streak with an 82-75 win over the Florida A&M women Monday at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.
The 6-4 Reid poured in 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Moore, 6-2 contributed 19 points and a game-high 10 boards in the victory, only the sixth of the campaign for the Lady Bulldogs and first-year head coach Doug Robertson.
Sophilia Hipps added 11 points and Kristin Johnson came off the bench for 10 points for the host, which avenged an earlier 82-45 loss to Florida A&M at Tallahassee, Feb. 2. The Lady Bulldogs improved to 6-21 and 3-13 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
The visiting Lady Rattlers were led by Deidra Jones with 20 points and seven rebounds. Antonia Bennett added 14 points, and Stephanie chipped in 12. Melissa Daniels led FAMU on the boards with nine, to go along with eight points.
The Lady Rattlers, losers in eight of their last nine contests, dropped to 11-16 and 6-9 in the league.
SC State, who scored just one field goal in the final four minutes, built a 69-62 lead with 3:27 left and converted 11 of 15 from the line to hold on for the win.
After the Lady Bulldogs went ahead 69-62, Jones got a layup to pull the Lady Rattlers to within 69-64 with 3:05 remaining.
Reid made one of two from the line for SC State for a 70-64 before a 7-4 run by FAMU cut the margin in half, 74-71, with 1:34 left.
The Lady Bulldogs then scored four straight from the line, two each by Moore and Johnson to build a 78-71 edge but the Rattlers would not quit and closed the gap to three, 78-75, following a 3-pointer by Tameka McKelton with 24 ticks left. SC State made four from the line to wrap up the win.
The Lady Bulldogs led 34-33 at the half.
SC State will wrap up the regular season Thursday when it travels to Winston-Salem, NC to face Winston-Salem State at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Bulldogs will open play in the MEAC tournament Tuesday against an opponent to be determined.
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