TUSKEGEE, Ala. -- When Mya Millner scored in the paint and completed a 3-point play with 9:14 left in Miles' women's basketball tilt with Tuskegee, the Lady Bears held a 62-60 advantage in a game between the top two teams in the SIAC Western Division.

But from there, Miles would not make another shot from the field. An abysmal shooting performance in the final period cost the Lady Bears in a 77-68 loss to the Golden Tigers Saturday afternoon at Chappie James Arena. The loss was the second straight for Miles (9-5, 5-2 SIAC West), who saw its lead in the division shrink to just a half-game over Tuskegee (9-8, 5-3).

Miles would miss it last 14 shots from the field after the Millner (9 points, 4 rebounds) bucket. But it wasn't as if Tuskegee was knocking down shots all over the floor. The Golden Tigers made just 3-of-9 shots over the last 10 minutes. But they would live at the free throw line and made all those shots count, going 14-of-17 from the charity stripe to win going away.

The Lady Bears would actually have the first chance to make free throws the difference. After a technical foul was called against Tuskegee's Shelle Daniels, Sakina Wynn would convert on four straight free throws to give Miles a 66-63 lead with 8:11 to go. But after Kahyanne Bolton was called for a technical (the fifth technical foul between the two teams) with 4:42 left remaining, Normesha Pitts would make her four freebies to put the Golden Tigers up 69-66 and they would not trail again after closing the game on a 14-2 run.

Both teams battled through the first three quarters but Miles was never able to put Tuskegee in its rearview mirror. The Lady Bears led by one after the first quarter but the Golden Tigers cracked the game open in the second. With the score tied at 28, TU scored 10 consecutive points to put Miles in a big hole with two minutes left before halftime. But the Lady Bears would close the quarter on a nice run, with Jaylen Snipes scoring right before the horn to cut the halftime deficit to 38-37. Miles would jump back in front on two Millner free throws midway through the third quarter but it took a late basket by Wynn to send the Lady Bears into the final period with a 59-57 advantage.

Ashiala Jackson had 14 points and 10 rebounds while India Blakely (13 points) and Pitts (10 points) each scored in double figures for Tuskegee. Wynn had 21 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals, Victoria Sutton added 10 points, and Raiana Johnson (game-high 12 rebounds) and Katrice Jackson (4 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks) patrolled the paint well for Miles, which travels to Spring Hill on Monday. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.