Box Score ORANGEBURG, S.C. –
Jazzmine Johnson had 18 points to lead three South Carolina State players in double figures as the Lady Bulldogs defeated Bethune-Cookman 68-61 in a come-from-behind win in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference contest Monday night at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center. SC State scored nine of the game's final 11 points.
Kourtney Williams added 14 points, including 12 in the second half,
Amber Howard had 12 and
Ashleigh Outler poured in nine -- on three 3-pointers -- in the victory. Coach Doug Robertson's team earned a split of its two-game MEAC home stand to improve to 5-2 on the season and 1-1 in the league.
Bethune-Cookman got a game-high 25 points from Kendra Cooper, who made 8-17 shots from the field, including a 7-16 performance from 3-point range. Kayla Crawford added 14 points and Kailyn Williams 12 and a game-high 10 rebounds in the loss, which dropped the visitors to 3-6 on the season and 1-1 in MEAC play.
SC State, which trailed by as many as 10 in the first half before battling back for a 33-32 lead at the break, fell behind 52-45 when Cooper connected on the sixth of her seven 3-pointers with 10:20 left in the game.
Johnson got inside for SC State to slice the margin to 52-47 but Cooper's driving layup made the margin seven once more (54-47) with 8:36 remaining. Williams got five straight points for the Lady Bulldogs with back-to-back baskets and one of two from the line to pull the host Lady Bulldogs to within 54-52, but Cooper answered with her seventh 3-pointer to push the Lady Wildcat advantage to 57-52 with 6:10 left.
After Bethune-Cookman failed to score on its next possession, SC State's Williams, who had 10 of her 14 points in the final eight minutes, connected on her only 3-pointer in five attempts on the night and
Jasmine Coleman, who tallied eight points and a team-high seven boards for the Lady Bulldogs got a layup to deadlock the contest at 57-all with 4:27 on the clock.
Cooper finally missed from long range on the Lady Wildcats' next trip down court but the Lady Bulldogs could not capitalize, and Bethune-Cookman took the lead 59-57 on an inside basket by Kailyn Williams, but
Kourtney Williams countered for SC State to forge a 59-59 tie with 2:35 remaining.
The Lady Wildcats, who enjoyed a 46-41 edge on the boards, took advantage of three offensive boards to regain the lead on Williams' layup at the 2:11 mark, but that would be the last points of the contest for the visitors.
Toni Grier's only basket of the game pulled SC State into a 61-61 tie with 1:51 showing and Johnson's layup 22 seconds later gave the Lady Bulldogs the lead 63-61 and Robertson's team made 5-7 from the line to ice the 68-61 win.
The Lady Wildcats scored the game's first 10 points and were ahead 14-4 when Williams got inside to a bucket with 12:16 on the first period clock, before SC State roared back for its one-point halftime lead.
SC State hits the road to take on UNC-Greensboro at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
