For the second time in less than two weeks, Miles fell into a big hole against Albany State and nearly fought itself out of it before running out of gas in a 71-60 loss Thursday night at Knox-Windham Gymnasium.

Victoria Sutton scored 11 points and added four rebounds and four steals for the Lady Bears (8-19), who lost their fifth straight. Elesha Foster had 20 points and eight rebounds to pace the Golden Rams (17-11), who won in Fairfield for the first time since 2013.

The game was close throughout the first quarter and into the second but the Golden Rams closed the first half on a 14-4 run to take a 46-32 lead into the half. The Albany State lead got as large as 18 points in the early stages of the third quarter before Miles started to fight back. The Lady Bears allowed just one field goal over the final eight-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter and trailed 55-46 with one quarter left.

A free throw by Najla Shamsid-Deen (seven points, four steals) with 3:12 remaining cut the Miles deficit to 59-55. But the Lady Bears - who shot less than 21 percent in the second half - missed their next seven shots as Albany State pushed the lead back into double digits and pulled away for a sixth consecutive victory.

Tyra Thompson had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Albany State. Ashley McCrear (eight points), Amoni Walker (seven points, three assists) and Taylor Terry (six points, six rebounds) all contributed for Miles, which will host Spring Hill in a resumption of a suspended game on Saturday, which is also Senior Day. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.