Box Score SAVANNAH, Ga. (www.NCCUEaglePride.com) - In the second meeting between North Carolina Central University and Savannah State University, the Lady Tigers evened out the 2011-12 series with a 59-43 victory over the mighty maroon in Tiger Arena on Saturday, Feb. 25 in Savannah, Ga.

NCCU junior Chasidy Williams led the Lady Eagles with 13 points, while coming up one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards. Sophomore Tenika Neely added eight points to the offense, as senior Blaire Houston circulated five assists.

SSU grasped the lead at the 17:37 mark and never looked back. Within the first twenty minutes of play, the host Tigers led by as many as 18 points.

The maroon and gray brought to the margin to 13 points by the halftime intermission off a 10-5 run initiated by sophomore Lakisha Evans. 

At the half, Williams tallied seven points while Houston gathered four points.

The Lady Tigers maintained their home court advantage in the second half.

By the 9:19 mark, SSU took a game-high 23-point lead.  On a 9-0 run, NCCU snapped the lead to 14 points by the 2:55 mark.

Over the final three minutes of play, NCCU sinked five final points for a final score of 59-43.

In the loss, NCCU was 39 percent from the field on 14-of-36 shooting, 4-of-10 from the long range and 46 percent from the free-throw line on 11-of-24 shooting.

SSU offense was led by three double-figure outings.  Shawanda Hanton guided the Lady Tigers with 19 points, while Zadous Pollard finished with 12 points and Jasmine Norman dropped 10 points.  Hanton also led in assists (seven) and steals (four), as Alisha Nelson pulled down seven rebounds in the win.

Statistically, Savannah State was 30 percent from the field on 22-of-74 shooting, 7-of-26 from the behind the arc and 62 percent from the free-throw line on 8-of-13.

NCCU is now 3-24 on the season and 1-13 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, while SSU is 10-17 and 3-11 in the conference. 

The mighty maroon returns to action on Monday, Feb. 27 for their last-road contest of the season against South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, S.C., at 5:30 p.m.

For more information on NCCU women’s basketball, visit the official NCCU Athletics website www.NCCUEaglePride.com.