Box Score DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Junior forward
Toni Grier hit a pair of free throws with four-tenths of a second left to give the South Carolina State women's basketball team a 57-56 win over Bethune-Cookman on Thursday evening at Moore Gymnasium.
The Lady Bulldogs (16-11, 9-7 MEAC) led 55-54 with 18 seconds left in the game when
Jasmine Coleman and B-CU's Jasmine Knowles got tied up, forcing the referees to call a jump ball. The possession arrow favored the Lady Wildcats and 10 seconds later Knowles hit a jumper to put her team up 56-55.
SC State inbounded the ball and ran the length of the floor in five seconds.
Kourtney Williams missed a jumper, but Grier came up with the rebound and was fouled. The game clock expired as the referee called the foul which required the officiating crew to review the play at the scorer's table. They confirmed that the foul happened before time expired and sent Grier to the line for two shots. On the night, she was 7-of-8 from the line, and finished the game with seven points, six rebounds and a team-high two blocks.
The Lady Bulldogs led for most of the game. They opened up the game on an 8-0 run and eventually took a 27-24 lead into halftime.
In the second period, SC State led by as many as 10 points (44-34) after a 3-pointer by
Amber Howard at the 11:06 mark. But Bethune-Cookman (12-16, 8-7 MEAC) went on a 12-2 run to tie the game at 46-all with 5:05 left. The teams traded baskets for the final four minutes of the game until Grier's free throws sealed the win for SC State.
Alea Godfrey led B-CU with 20 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Terrenisha Hollis also scored in double figures with 16 points. She added 10 boards, two blocks, two steals and two assists.
Howard led SC State with 21 points. She was 7-of-11 from the floor for the game and 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Coleman finished with six points and 10 boards, while Williams had 14 points, two rebounds and a steal.
The Lady Bulldogs' next outing will be in the 2015 MEAC Tournament which starts on Monday at the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Va. The official tournament seedings and bracket will be released by the MEAC on Friday.
