Miles welcomed back star guard
Iemyiah Harris Monday night against Fort Valley State and she promptly made her presence felt.
Coming off the bench, Harris - the SIAC Preseason Player of the Year - scored a team-high 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting as the Lady Bears won their fourth straight with a 58-47 decision over the Lady Wildcats at Knox-Windham Gymnasium. As a team, the Lady Bears (4-1, 2-0 SIAC West) shot 39 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, including a blistering 60 percent in the second half to take control of the contest.
Trailing by a single point at the half, Miles began to shoot itself back into the contest.
Laila Minter (12 points, 4-of-7 3-pointers) hit triples on back-to-back possessions less than three minutes into the third quarter to give the Lady Bears a 29-26 advantage. FVSU (2-5, 0-4 SIAC East) would go back in front but
Simone Johnson (seven points, four rebounds, two steals) knocked down a 3-ball to put Miles back in front 34-32.
But Harris got white-hot at the end of the quarter to give Miles a lead it would not relinquish. She hit a 3-pointer with 1:42 left in the period to take a three-point lead before drilling another from beyond the arc as the quarter closed for a 40-36 lead. The Lady Bears kept stroking it from downtown to start the fourth, making their first four attempts from deep.
Ayonna Naylor started the party, Harris drained two more, and
Feliah Greer (five points, six rebounds, six assists, four steals) took a feed from
Tederia Ashley (four points, nine rebounds) to bang her own 3-ball to give Miles a 52-42 lead with 4:52 left. The Lady Wildcats would not get closer than six points the rest of the way.
Marley Bell had a game-high 18 points to lead Fort Valley State but it was not enough to keep Miles from dominating on the boards (49-30 rebound edge) and turning 27 FVSU turnovers into 21 points. The Lady Bears are back in action on Sunday at Samford in an exhibition contest. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.