SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Playing for the third time in five days, No. 22 Miles ran out of gas in the fourth quarter in dropping a 56-51 decision to Savannah State Wednesday night at Tiger Arena. It was a non-conference tilt between the SIAC division leaders and allowed the Tigers (16-4) to avenge a loss to the Lady Bears (17-3) last December.

Miles led by as many as seven points in the first half and never trailed in the third quarter. When Imani Williams scored with 30 seconds left in the penultimate period, the Lady Bears held a 41-39 advantage. Unfortunately, that would be the last time the team would score for quite a while.

Savannah State scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to take the lead for good. Miles, on the other hand, suffered through one of its most brutal stretches of the season. The Lady Bears missed their first 10 shots of the quarter and turned the ball over seven times. The Tigers almost tossed a shutout in the final period before Williams (nine points, nine rebounds, four blocks) scored on an offensive putback with 40 seconds left in the game.

From there, though, Miles made a late push. Simone Johnson (five points, five rebounds, three steals) converted a 3-point play and Madison Lee (team-high 12 points) knocked down a 3-pointer to bring the Lady Bears to within 53-49 with 17 seconds remaining. Miles scored 10 points in the final 40 seconds but ultimately ran out of time in dropping its second road contest in its last three games.

Amari Heard scored 25 points and Nyla Allen added 16 for Savannah State. Iemyiah Harris (11 points, three assists, two steals) and Tederia Ashley (six points, career-high 13 rebounds) were among the leaders for the Lady Bears, who are back home to play Kentucky State on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.