SAVANNAH, GA – South Carolina State junior Taylor Brown had 18 points to lead four Lady Bulldog players in double figures and grabbed nine rebounds to power Coach Audra Smith's team to a 71-60 road win over Savannah State Saturday.
Orangeburg native Jaquanna Murray added 14 points and six boards, Kemoni Jenkins 13 points and five rebounds and Esther Udonsi 11 points for SC State, which improved to 10-10 overall and 3-3 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
Myasia Jones lead all scorers with 20 points and was one of two Savannah State player in double figures for the Lady Tigers. Jacquece Alston had 11 points for the host who dropped to 4-10 on the season and 2-3 in league play.
The visiting Lady Bulldogs, who never trailed in the contest, took a 50-32 lead on an inside basket by Dashanique Peterson -- who had six points in the game -- with 2:40 to play in the third before the youthful Lady Tigers fought back behind the scoring of Jones to close the gap to 55-49 on a jumper by Ta'Quaia Lampkin with 7:39 to play.
Udonsi, who had three 3-pointers in the contest, connected on her third basket from behind the arc and Murray added two free throws for a 60-49 Lady Bulldog advantage with 6:46 on the clock. The closest Savannah State came after that was eight points, 63-55, with 3:52 remaining.
The second half was even as both teams scored 38 points in the final 20 minutes. Savannah edged SC State 21-20 in the third, while the Lady Bulldogs owned an 18-17 advantage in the final quarter.
"I'm happy for the win. Anytime you get a road win in this league, it's definitely a plus," said SC State's Smith. "We played well early and had control of the game but I knew that Savannah State, despite being a young team, would compete.
"And they came back although we helped them by turning the ball over and also allowing them to penetrate for easy shots. But, we pulled it together and was able to stop most of their penetration and regain control of the contest. I was happy to see us maintain our poise and make a late run to get the win.
"We now have some time off to try and iron out some of the things we need to correct. But, it's great to get a road win in this league."
SC State scored the game's first 10 points enroute to a 17-7 lead after one period. Udonsi and Murray both had five points in the period. The host Lady Tigers began the second period on a 6-0 run to close to within 17-13 with 7:19 left in the half before Jenkins broke the SC State drought with a 3-pointer to give the Lady Bulldogs a 20-13 edge at the 6:45 mark. SC State closed the period on 13-9 run to go ahead by 11, 33-22, at the half. Brown had 14 of her 18 points in first-half points for the Lady Bulldogs.
SC State returns to action Friday when the Lady Bulldogs travel to Princess Anne, MD for the first of two road MEAC doubleheaders.
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