ORANGEBURG, South Carolina — Senior guard Jakayvea Akins poured in team-high 21 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead South Carolina State to a, 67-58, home-opener victory over visiting Charleston Southern Friday (Nov. 16th ) at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center."I am so proud of the team played tonight," said first-year head coach Audra Smith. "We got down 12-points at one point and we kept fighting and stuck with it and was able to pull out the victory at home."
"When we were down I told my players that we have to pick up our defensive efforts and get back and defend," said Smith. "I am just glad we were able to stay focused down the stretch. Now we will enjoy this win for a little while and get ready for Presbyterian on next week."
The first-half was pretty much even with South Carolina State leading 31-30 during intermission.
CSU came out strong in the third quarter jumping out to an 11-point lead off a jumper by Rachel Burns with 3:10 remaining left. A turnover by senior guard Kyesha Lewis put the Bucs in scoring position to move ahead, 39-51 at the 9:24 mark in the fourth quarter.
BOX SCORE
A jumper by Akins followed by a 3-pointer by senior guard Kemoni Jenkins sparked a 15-3 run to tie the game 54-54 with 3:45 remaining in regulation. Akins responded tossing in six of her 21 points in the closing minutes to give South Carolina State the victory.
Senior forward Jaquanna Murray had a solid day rebounding with an game-high 21 rebounds, four points and two blocks. Jenkins chipped in 13 and Rhein Beamon added 10, six rebounds and three assist on the night.
CSU was led by Ke'Asia Jackson with 22 points, while teammate Weknyne Dumorne added 11 in the loss.
South Carolina State returns to action Tuesday (Nov.20th) on the road at Presbyterian. Tipoff is 6 p.m. For more information on South Carolina State Athletics visit www.scsuathletics.com or call the Office of Athletic Media Relations at (803) 536-7060.
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
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