The Clark Atlanta University Lady Panthers fell late to Savannah State 80-77 in Savannah Thursday.

The Lady Panthers (7-18, 5-11 SIAC) went on a 17-8 run midway through the fourth quarter to tie Savannah State (14-7, 9-7 SIAC) 71-71 with 4:29 remaining.  They twice led by four with just over two minutes remaining after two Nailah-Mawusi Mitchell free throws and then a Naomi Holloway jumper with 2:07 remaining made it 77-73.

But the Lady Panthers missed their final four shots along with two free throws as Savannah State's Ta'Kyla Austin had a basket and two free throws to tie the game over the next 30 seconds.  The Tigers then got free throws from Amari Heard and Azhana Maxwell to get the win.

The Lady Panthers had led most of the game, leading as many as 13 points in the first half.   They held onto the lead deep into the third quarter until Savannah State took over the lead on a Heard jumper.  Savannah State grabbed their largest lead of nine points early in the fourth quarter, just before CAU made their late run to regain the advantage.  Savannah State, the SIAC's top scoring team, hit 14-of-20 shots in the third quarter for 29 points to pull themselves back into the game.

Mitchell finished with a career-high 26 points to lead CAU.  She converted all 13 of her free throws along with pulling down five rebounds.  Reyana Miller had 19 points, three assists and three steals while Holoway and Lakashia Hill both added ten points.  Hill also had 11 rebounds.

Maxwell led Savannah State with 24 points while Austin added 16.

The Lady Panthers will close out the regular season on Tuesday, Feb. 25 when they visit Fort Valley State.  They then head to Rock Hill, S.C. to take part in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament which begins on Monday, March 2.