Box Score
FAIRFIELD, Ala. - The Kentucky State University women's basketball team let a 16 point halftime lead slip away in the second half but held on to take down the Miles College Lady Golden Bears, 69-67, on Thursday evening at Knox-Windham Gymnasium.
Shaia Horton led the Thorobrettes with 26 points on Thursday, her third straight game with 25 or more points. Over the past three games Horton is averaging 26.3 points per game while shooting 50 percent (26-of-52) from the floor, including 46 percent (16-of-35) from 3-point range. With the victory Kentucky State (12-4, 7-2 SIAC) pushes its current win streak to four games. With nine games left on their regular season schedule, Kentucky State has already matched its win total from last season.
Miles (4-11, 1-7 SIAC) narrowly missed out on completing an improbable comeback.
After shooting 47 percent from the floor in the first half, KSU headed to the locker rooms at the intermission with a 40-24 lead. The Thorobrettes dominated the first half using stifling defense. KSU tallied seven steals and four blocks while holding MC to just 36 percent shooting from the floor.
In the second half, the Thorobrettes offense cooled significantly as KSU hit just 28 percent of its attempts. Trailing 42-26 with 18:50 left in the half, the Lady Golden Bears went on an 11-0 run to cut the Kentucky State lead to five at 42-37.
After some back-and-forth Miles was able to tie the contest at 52-52 when Wendy Miller converted a layup with 5:01 remaining. That seemed to awaken the Thorobrettes who responded with a 13-2 run to push their lead back up to 11 at 67-56 with just 1:47 remaining on the game clock.
Refusing to go down quietly, MC finished the game on an 11-2 run. Kentucky State, which shot 56 percent from the charity stripe, missed its final six free throw attempts of the game during Miles' run. With just two seconds remaining and holding on to a three point lead, KSU's
Taylor Sanders fouled Porshia Blue who went to the line for a pair of free-throw attempts. After making the first, Blue intentionally missed the second. On the ensuing scramble for the ball, guard
Ashley Huddleston corralled the rebound to secure the victory for KSU.
Besides Horton's 26 points, KSU also got solid performances from Sanders and Huddleston. Both finished with nine points. Sanders went 2-for-3 from deep while Huddleston added four rebounds and three steals. All-SIAC forward
Brieona Warner finished the contest with seven points, eight rebounds, a block and a steal.
Miles was led offensively by Blue who finished with 25 points and six rebounds. Wendy Miller picked up a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Shaquinta Sales finished with nine points and 11 boards.
Kentucky State now heads to Tuscaloosa, Alabama for a match-up with SIAC opponent Stillman College on Saturday, Jan. 31. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. (CT).
