FORT VALLEY, Ga. -- The Miles women's basketball program has had some good seasons and others that may not have ended so well. But what the program has never experienced is five straight wins to start a campaign.

Until now.

A steal by Nadia Cathey led to a layup by Jakera Ellerbee with nine seconds left in overtime to propel the Lady Bears to an 80-78 win over Fort Valley State Thursday evening in a non-conference contest at the H&PE Arena. Miles (5-0) trailed by 11 points in the fourth quarter before making a valiant comeback to earn the history-making win.

Miles trailed by 12 points at halftime and saw that deficit get as deep as 16 points in the third quarter. Miles had a huge offensive third quarter to get close but when Torri Myers converted a 3-point play a minute into the fourth quarter, FVSU held a 59-48 advantage. But the Lady Bears caught fire and it was Ellerbee who gave the Wildcats all the smoke. Miles scored 10 straight points and Ellerbee (17 points, eight rebounds, three steals) had eight of them to cut the deficit to a single point.

The Wildcats, though, would still hold a six-point lead with 80 seconds left in regulation before the Lady Bears made their push. Camryn London knocked down a 3-pointer and Nuriyah Slaton (seven points) completed a 3-point play with 16 seconds left to tie the game at 68. Fort Valley State would split two free throws with 12 seconds left to take the lead but London would do the same with five seconds remaining in the fourth. A final FVSU attempt at the buzzer was off and the game went to overtime.

The Lady Bears took an early lead in the extra period thanks to London, who scored a career-high 34 points. She had five early points and seven total in overtime, the final two coming on free throws with 1:18 left to give Miles a 78-76 lead. The Wildcats would tie the game on their next possessions and Miles responded with a missed jumper by Slaton. But as FVSU looked to get the win, Cathey (four points, five assists) got her fourth steal of the game and whipped it down court to the waiting Ellerbee, who scored with 8.5 seconds remaining to put Miles on top for good. A final layup attempt by the Wildcats came up short and the Lady Bears escaped with the victory.

Myers had 28 points and 14 rebounds while Jah'ne Brown added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Fort Valley State. Breah McGrady added nine points for Miles, which travels to play Carver College on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.