JACKSON, Tenn. -- Miles used a huge third quarter to erase a double-digit deficit before pulling away in the fourth and defeating Lane 67-60 Monday night.
The Lady Bears (13-4, 7-4 SIAC West) had not played in a week since their ugly loss at Tuskegee. Things were looking like a repeat was in the offing when the Dragons had opened a 35-24 halftime lead. Over the final five minutes of the second quarter, Miles went 1-of-4 from the field, missed all four free throws, and turned the ball over six times as Lane broke open a close game.
Coming off one of her worst performances of the season, senior guard
Camryn London got it together in the third quarter and helped turn the tide of the contest. She scored the first eight points of the period to spark the offense and cut the Miles deficit to four points. Her pass to
Markisha Body with 2:28 left in the quarter put the Lady Bears on top 39-38 and they would not trail again. London would score 12 of her game-high 22 points in the stanza that saw Miles outscore Lane 21-7. London also added five steals, four rebounds and three assists to her ledger.
The lead would continue to build for the Lady Bears in the fourth quarter. Body (11 points) would knock down two shots to open the period, then
Tahlor Sutton would score as she was fouled. She missed the free throw but
Imani Williams (six points, six rebounds, two blocks) was there for the putback and Miles would have a 54-44 lead with 7:25 to go. The Dragons would draw to within six points with two minutes remaining, but the Lady Bears would make 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch and led by as many as 13 points before two late 3-pointers by Lane closed out the scoring.
Kayla Simmons had 18 points and Jordyn Neal added 15 points for the Dragons. Sutton had eight points while
Jakera Ellerbee had seven points and eight rebounds for Miles, which hosts Clark Atlanta on Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
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