MOBILE, Ala. - Spring Hill College led with less than three minutes to go in Thursday's Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Lane College, but the Badgers were unable to close out the Dragons and Lane rallied for a 75-68 victory at the Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center.
Tiffany Valentine made a layup with 3:33 remaining to put Spring Hill ahead, 65-63, and the Badgers led until the 2:57 mark, when Porche' Hannah sank a pair of free throws to tie the game at 65. Lane made a pair of free throws, but
Ava Verner's basket re-tied the game at 67 with 1:34 left.
However, that was the last field goal the Badgers would make as the Dragons outscored the Badgers, 8-1, over the final 94 seconds to take the lead and pull away for the conference win.
Lane (8-14, 7-6) - which has now alternated wins and losses in its last seven games - scored the opening basket of the game, but Spring Hill (9-11, 5-6) rattled off the next seven points to gain some control early before expanding its lead to 16-9 by the end of the opening quarter. The Dragons came back in the second quarter, but the Badgers still led 31-27 with 4:01 to go in the first half after a free throw by Valentine.
However, Lane closed the half with a 10-0 run to take a 37-31 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Dragons shot 12-for-24 (50 percent) from the field overall, including 4-for-8 (also 50 percent) on 3-pointers and forced Spring Hill into 17 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. Cierra Brown scored 12 points and Antrice McCoy had 10 for Lane in the first half.
Valentine led Spring Hill with 11 points and
Katie Krout pitched in nine to help keep the Badgers close.
The Badgers trailed by as many as eight points in the third quarter, the last time coming at 44-36 after a Chasity Moore layup with 6:49 to go in the period, but Spring Hill started to chip away at the Dragons' advantage. Finally, Valentine converted a conventional three-point play with 11 seconds remaining to put Spring Hill ahead 55-54 going into the fourth quarter.
The teams traded the lead through the first six-plus minutes of the final frame before Valentine's basket gave the Badgers their final lead of the game.
McCoy led Lane with 18 points, five rebounds and three steals. The Dragons had three other players in double figures, with Brown (14), Chasity Moore (13, seven rebounds, three steals) and Alexis Harris (11, three rebounds, three steals) all scoring 10 or more.
Valentine paced Spring Hill with a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds. Krout had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds and
Mathilde Nicolas pitched in 12 for the Badgers. Spring Hill shot 50 percent of its shots (27-of-54) and outrebounded Lane, 36-33, but were hampered by 26 turnovers which led to 27 Lane points.
Spring Hill continues its crucial late-season, four-game homestand on Saturday, hosting Central State in another SIAC matchup. Central State took the first regular-season meeting between the two teams, knocking off the Badgers, 73-61, in Wilberforce, Ohio on Jan. 20. Saturday's game, which will be broadcast on ESPN3 and is a part of Spring Hill's Breast Cancer Awareness Day, is set to tip off at 2 p.m. at the Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center.
