SAVANNAH, GA (November 27, 2021) – The Claflin Lady Panthers (1-3) gave a great effort but could not pull out the win in a 77-43 road loss to the Savannah State Lady Tigers (4-0), Saturday afternoon. The Lady Panthers played well, but the team was tripped up by some strong perimeter defense by the Lady Tigers.
As a team, the Lady Panthers had a tough time putting points on the scoreboard. The team was held to shooting just 25.4% (15-of-59) from the field in the game. The Lady Panthers were able to keep up with the Lady Tigers in rebounding with 42 total team rebounds, one more than their opponents. Claflin junior center Breanna Price led the way for the Lady Panthers with 10 points and nine rebounds in the game while redshirt-freshman Brandi Rivers added eight points.
The Lady Panthers got the game going with a strong first half performance. The team was especially effective in the first quarter when they held the Lady Tigers within striking distance for the entire period. After taking an early 6-2 lead after a lay-up from junior Jalah Horton with 6:24 left in the quarter, the Lady Panthers allowed a 14-2 run by the Lady Tigers to fall behind, 8-15 with 1:33 left in the quarter. However, the final minute belonged to the Lady Panthers who closed the quarter strong and pulled to within six points, 17-11. Things got tougher in the second quarter as the Lady Panthers managed just nine points in the period. The Lady Panthers kept things close at the mid-point of the quarter when a Price lay-up with 5:39 left in the quarter kept the Lady Panthers within seven points, 23-16. However, in the final minutes of the quarter, things got away from the Lady Panthers as it was the team’s last field goal of the quarter and the team took a 33-20 deficit into the locker room at halftime.
The second half turned out to be another struggle for the Lady Panthers as the team managed just 23 points in the two periods. During the third quarter, the team was outscored 28-7. In the fourth quarter, things got better for the Lady Panthers as the team made a strong comeback effort in the game. However, the Lady Tigers matched the Lady Panthers point-for-point and the team finished the game with a 77-43 loss.
The Lady Panthers will return home for their next action, Monday. The team will host the University of South Carolina-Aiken Pacers in a 5:30 p.m. game.