Box Score ORANGEBURG, SC—Dawn King tossed in a game-high 18 points to lead Florida A&M to an, 81-61, victory over South Carolina State Saturday (Feb.25) at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.

Bryeasha Blair led the Lady Bulldogs with a team-high 16 points and seven rebounds, while junior forward Jahmia Bradley added 14 points and six rebounds and Brittany Drumgoole finished with 10 in the loss.

Despite the loss, South Carolina State forced FAMU to a game-high 16 turnovers.

"We just didn't match their intensity throughout the game," said head coach Doug Robertson, Jr. They (FAMU) made plays down the stretch and beat us up physically on the boards and that was the deciding factor in the game."

The Lady Bulldogs led by as many as five, 12-7, early in the first quarter off a three pointer by Blair. A jumper by Jamella Smith gave FAMU the lead 12-15 with 1:00 remaining. The Rattlers jumped out to their biggest lead of the half off a jumper by Dawn King to push the score to 18, 36-18 with 3:22 remaining in the second quarter. Florida A&M led 40-22 during intermission

FAMU kept the momentum going throughout the second half increasing their lead to 31, 63-32, off a layup by Kennedy Burks with a 1:51 remaining in the third quarter. Freshman forward tossed Alexis Scott's mid-range jumper cut FAMU's lead to 18, 61-79, with 1:52 remaining in regulation.  Time ran short as FAMU held on to capture the 81-61 victory over host South Carolina State.

Jamella Smith added 13 points and Shakerrya Morrison grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and six points in the win. FAMU improved to 11-17 overall, 9-6 in the MEAC, while SC State dropped to 5-21 overall, 2-13 in the league.

Next up South Carolina State plays its final regular season game on the road at Savannah State in a MEAC doubleheader. Tipoff for the women is 5:30 p.m., with the men following in a 7:30 p.m. start.

Purchase your tickets now for the 2017 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament March 6-11 at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, VA. For more information you can visit www.meacsports.com.

For more information on South Carolina State Athletics visit www.scsuathletics.com or call the Office of Athletic Media Relations at (803) 536-7060.