DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University women's basketball team outscored the Savannah State University Lady Tigers in the second half, with the help of an 11-0 run, but it wasn't enough to come away with the victory, falling 82-61, on Monday, Jan. 12 in McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium.
Senior
Racquel Davis led the Lady Eagles' offense with 19 points, and took control of the defensive game with seven rebounds. With 13 points,
Morgan Jones followed behind Davis in NCCU scoring.
Savannah State obtained the first 10 points of the contest, but a three-pointer from Jones put NCCU in action.
The Lady Eagles could not manage to dig themselves out of the hole, and shooting was a key factor. NCCU (3-13, 1-3 MEAC) shot 24 percent from the field in the first half, as opposed to Savannah State shooting 59.3 percent.
The Lady Tigers' lead grew as the time wound down in the first half.
Savannah State's Ezinne Kalu controlled the majority of the Lady Tigers' first-period scoring with 11 points, sending NCCU into the locker room trailing 40-18.
Early in the second half, the Lady Eagles fell to a 10-0 run by the Lady Tigers, leaving NCCU behind 52-22, with nearly 14 minutes remaining.
NCCU was down by as much as 32 when the second-half clock read 9:01, but a jumper from
Tisha Dixon helped the Lady Eagles to create 11 unanswered points, trimming the Savannah State lead to 21. NCCU was still down 65-44 with 6:11 left in regulation.
A 5-0 run from NCCU cut the Lady Tiger lead to only 16, at 51-67, with four minutes to play.
Although NCCU managed to outscore the Lady Tigers by one point in the second half, Savannah State regained control during the final minutes, leading to the final score of 82-61.
NCCU and Savannah State were relatively close in the turnover category, with NCCU committing 21 and Savannah State giving up 20. However, the Tigers managed to score 16 more points off turnovers than the Lady Eagles.
Kalu finished with a game-high of 23 points for Savannah State (7-8, 2-1 MEAC).
The Lady Eagles will hit the road to Norfolk, Virginia to face the Norfolk State University Spartans on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 4 p.m.
