Box Score
SAVANNAH, Ga. – North Carolina Central University women’s basketball senior/freshman duo of Chasidy Williams and Aja Hoyle combined for a total of 27 points, leading the Lady Eagles squad to a 43-38 win over the Lady Tigers from Savannah State University on Saturday, Feb. 16 at Tiger Arena in Savannah, Ga.
 
 NCCU’s Williams and Hoyle led the game contributing 14 and 13 points respectively. Williams also added six rebounds during the victory while shooting 5-for-18 from the field, a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe, dishing out three assists and stealing one Lady Tiger possession while Hoyle grabbed an additional five steals for NCCU.
 
Fellow freshman Tisha Dixon led all rebounders during the contest seizing a game-high of 12 rebounds. The Kinston, N.C., native also scored six points and dished out one assist while shooting 2-for-3 from the free throw line.
 
A steal and basket from Hoyle put the Lady Eagles on the board first with a 2-0 lead at 18:38 mark. SSU battled back tying the game three times within the next four minutes. Williams’s two free throws with 12:14 left in the first half gave NCCU its largest lead of the half with a 10-4 score.  
 
The Lady Eagles lost their lead during the first half as SSU pulled ahead by as many as three on multiple occasions before NCCU took a one-point deficit into the locker room trailing the Lady Tigers 21-20.
  
As the second half of play commenced, junior Tenika Neely made one-of-two free throws to tie the game at 21 with 18:22 left in the contest. The next four minutes of the game remained scoreless between both opponents before an SSU 7-2 run put the Lady Tigers on top by five, their largest lead of the game, with 11:19 left on the clock.
  
NCCU answered after two made free throws from Hoyle gave them a seven-point lead, the largest of the game, with 2:07 left to play before the Lady Eagles went on to take home the five-point victory at 43-38.
 
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory marked the first win under head coach Vanessa Taylor while also snapping a 29 game losing streak from the Lady Eagles which dates back to Feb. 11, 2012 when NCCU defeated SSU at home and marks Taylors 299 victory all-time.

In the first victory of the 2012-13 season, the Lady Eagles shot 30 percent from the field, grabbed 36 boards, captured 11 steals, and shot 13-for-19 from the charity stripe. 
 
Andrietta Thomas guided the Lady Tigers’ offense with11 points while Erin Hogue added 12 rebounds.
 
In the loss, SSU was 32 percent from the field, 3-of-10 from behind the arc and 1-for-2 from the free throw line.
 
NCCU advances to 1-23 on the season, 1-10 in the MEAC and evens out the series with the Lady Tigers at 6-6, as SSU drops to 7-16 overall, 2-8 in the conference.
 
The Lady Eagles returns to the hardwood with a Monday, Feb. 18 MEAC matchup against the Lady Bulldogs of South Carolina State in Orangeburg, S.C., at 5:30 p.m.