Despite their early lapse, the Lady Rattlers were able to grind out a 78-72 victory late against the visiting Lady Tigers of Savannah State University on Monday.
The Lady Rattlers (11-11, 5-4 MEAC) jumped out to an early lead, led by graduate student and guard Jasmine Grice, who scored 20 of her 34 points in the first half.
Despite Grice’s early efforts, the team found itself trailing at the half to the Lady Tigers (13-10, 6-3 MEAC), 39-38.
As the second half took shape, the Lady Rattlers began to storm back from an eleven-point deficit to tie the game at 60 with under eight minutes remaining.
Down the stretch, the Lady Rattlers were able to make crucial free throws, which ultimately helped them secure the win.
Florida A&M head coach LeDawn Gibson was pleased with the way her team responded in the second half by taking the lead late to earn a third straight victory.
“I’m very excited,” Gibson said. “We had to pay two teams back for beating us earlier in the season in which we felt like we should’ve won. So we came back and won those two.
“It’s great to play at home in front of our crowd and have that home crowd energy behind us to get this victory.”
Grice tied her season-high with 34 points and also eclipsed the 1,500-point mark for her career at FAMU.
“I’m excited about it, but it wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for my teammates,” Grice said. “I contribute a lot of my success towards them.”
Junior guard Taneka Rubin struggled for most of the game but managed to chipped in 10 points, four rebounds and made a huge free throw late that help put the Lady Rattlers in front for good.
“It felt good to help my team get this win, and very refreshing,” Rubin said. “I just let everything go and did what coach asked of me,” Rubin said.
Next up, the Lady Rattlers will travel to Greensboro, N.C. to take on North Carolina A&Ton Saturday.