Clark Atlanta had three players in double figures but fell short to Savannah State 77-74 Monday in L.S. Epps Gymnasium.
The loss means the Lady Panthers (5-12, 4-5 SIAC) fell from a three-way, second-place tie in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference East Division race to a tie for third. Savannah State (9-4, 4-4 SIAC) moves into a second-place tie with Paine.
Monday, both teams battled closely through the first half until Clark Atlanta got out to the biggest lead either team they could muster when
Courtney Hall hit two free throws to put CAU up 24-18 4:46 left before the half. But the SSU's Le'Andrea Gillis, the SIAC's leading scorer, jump started a Savannah State run with a jumper and a 3-pointer that pulled the Tigers back into the game. The teams were tied 31-31 at the half.
Clark Atlanta jumped out fast at the beginning of the second half, Brianna McGee had two 3-pointers and two other jumpers in the first two minutes to help CAU get out to a 48-38 lead.
Savannah State then turned the tables, going on a 15-0 run of their own to take a 53-48 lead with late in the third quarter.
The Lady Panthers kept things close, retaking the lead – 61-60 - on
Jalisa Jones' basket early in the fourth quarter. The game was tied at 67-67 after Hall's basket with 4:39 left in the game. But over the next two-and-a-half minutes, CAU missed their next three shots and turned the ball over twice.
Gillis then hit another basket that gave Savannah State a 73-67 lead with 2:08 remaining.
Naomi Holloway followed with a 3-pointer that pulled CAU within a basket at 73-70 with 1:42 left. Gillis countered with two free throws after she was fouled to put SSU up by five with 11 seconds left. Holloway hit a 3-pointer with seven seconds remaining to make it 77-74.
Reagan Jackson missed a 3-pointer with four seconds left that could have tied the game at the end.
Holloway, McGee and
Lakashia Hill all had 13 points for CAU. Holloway added five rebounds, four assists and a steal, while McGee added four rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Hill had four rebounds and an assist. Hall had 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Jones added seven points and eight rebounds, while
Autum Morings had six rebounds and two points.
Gillis led Savannah State with 18 points, along with seven rebounds, seven steals, two blocks, and four assists. Azhana Maxwell added 16 points and six rebounds. Amari Heard had 14 points and six rebounds.
The Lady Panthers are back on the floor at L.S. Epps Gymnasium on Saturday at 1 p.m. when they host the University of Montevallo. CAU fell to Montevallo 83-64 on Nov. 8 in the Gulf South Conference/Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Challenge.
