FORT VALLEY, Ga. -- Miles put on a defensive clinic Wednesday night against Fort Valley State, holding the Wildcats under 20 percent shooting from the field in a 46-37 win at HPE Arena. Victoria Sutton finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the Lady Bears (10-5) snapped a three-game skid in the non-conference tilt between the two SIAC teams.

The Wildcats (3-15) performance was offensive, especially in the first and fourth quarters, and had nothing to do with good offense. Miles nearly threw a first quarter shutout, taking an 11-1 lead after allowing just one free throw as FVSU missed all 13 of its shots from the field. The Wildcats finally got things going offensively in the second quarter and had cut the deficit to three points. But another protracted shooting slump by FVSU allowed the Lady Bears to regain their footing. Je'Keria Strickland's bucket with 34 second remaining pushed the lead back into double figures and Miles ultimately went into the half with a 22-14 lead.

FVSU continued to battle in the third quarter, trimming the deficit to five points after three quarters. A layup by Alexia Green with 7:47 remaining and two free throws by Camille Saunders a minute later had cut Miles' lead to a single point, 36-35. But there was just one made basket the rest of the game, a Taylor Terry jumper with 1:17 to go, and Miles was able to complete a wire-to-wire win by holding the Wildcats to 1-of-11 shooting in the quarter, including and eight straight misses to close the game, and 18.9 percent shooting for the game. 

Saunders and Torrie Myers each had nine points to lead Fort Valley State. Terry (10 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks), Katrice Jackson (five points, seven rebounds) and Sakina Wynn (three points, seven rebounds, two steals) led the way for Miles, which plays at Tuskegee on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.