ORANGEBURG, SC – South Carolina State junior Taylor Brown tossed in 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, both game highs, and Dashanique Peterson came the bench for 18 points and seven boards to lead the Lady Bulldogs to a 61-48 win over Florida A&M Monday.

Jaquanna Murray had 10 rebounds to go with eight points and three blocks and Kemoni Jenkins also chipped in eight points in the victory, which lifted SC State to 13-13 overall and 6-6 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play.

The visiting Lady Rattlers were led by Mya Moye with 12 points and Dy'Manee Royal with 10 and a team-high 12 rebounds. FAMU fell to 4-21 overall and 2-11 in the league.

Coach Audra Smith's SC State team built an early double-digit lead and never trailed in the contest. The SC State defense held the visiting Lady Rattlers scoreless in the opening quarter in racing to a 17-0 lead after one and a 30-10 cushion at the half. FAMU didn't get its first points of the game until 7:06 of the second quarter when Candice Williams, who had eight points in the contest, scored inside, making the score 21-2.

Peterson came off the bench for 12 first-half points on 4-5 shooting from the field and a perfect 4-4 effort at the free throw line, and also had five first-half rebounds. Brown contributed 11 points and seven boards in the first half for SC State.

"I was proud of the way we started, getting up on Florida A&M by 20 early," Smith said. "I was pleased with the offensive execution and how we were locked in on defense in the first half.

"We came out in the third quarter and wanted to keep the pressure on but had a little lull and they got back in the game somewhat. When you have a big lead, it gives you an opportunity to work on strategy and give some of the reserves a chance to get some experience and show what they can do.

"But, many times when you have such a lead, you relax and that's just what we did," continued Smith. We put them on the line, gave up some open shots and had some untimely turnovers that enabled them to make a run and get back in the game. We will learn from this but I'm happy to get the win as we prepare for a tough two-game MEAC road trip against undefeated (in MEAC play) North Carolina A&T (Saturday) and a scrappy NC Central team (Monday)."

The visitors began the third period with a 16-9 run to close the gap to 13, at 39-26, following two baskets by Tyra James, her only points of the night, and four straight free throws by Morgan Mitchell with 2:40 left in the period.

SC State took a 44-30 lead into the final period before the Lady Rattlers came to within 13 points again – 46-33 with 8:43 to play -- before SC State regained its edge and pulled out to a 52-33 advantage with 6:07 on the clock. The closest FAMU came after that was 59-48 with just 22.9 seconds on the clock.