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Miles shook off a slow start to earn a 67-61 win over Clark Atlanta to open SIAC play on Saturday at Knox-Windham Gymnasium. Iemyiah Harris and Feliah Greercombined for 48 points for the Lady Bears (4-1, 1-0 SIAC West), who have now won three straight.
Clark Atlanta (1-4, 0-1 SIAC East) scored the first eight points of the game and it took Miles nearly four minutes before it made its first bucket. But when Harris knocked down a 3-pointer three minutes later, the score was tied at 11. Greer knocked down two free throws a bit more than a minute into the second quarter to give Miles a 16-14 lead but when Harris knocked down another three right before halftime, she had 12 points but the Lady Bears trailed 25-24.
But the Miles defense took center stage in the third quarter. After falling behind by six points early in the period, the Lady Bears held CAU without a field goal for more than seven minutes. During that span, Miles scored 11 straight points as part of a 15-1 run that culminated with two straights buckets from Desereia Randle (seven points, six rebounds) that upped the Miles lead to 42-34. The offense continued to fire on all cylinders at the start of the fourth quarter, opening a 16-point lead, 61-45, after Tederia Ashley (five points, six rebounds, two blocks) made two free throws with 3:28 left.Â
The Panthers made it interesting down the stretch, forcing five Miles turnovers late. But CAU never got closer than five points inside of the final minute as Miles closed it out with Greer and Harris making 5-of-6 free throws over the final two minutes.
Corriana Evans and Trinity Jones each scored 13 points to lead Clark Atlanta. The Lady Bears were paced by Harris (29 points, four rebounds, two steals) and Greer (19 points, eight rebounds), who scored career-highs, and Imani Williams (two points, nine rebounds), who led the team in rebounds.
The Lady Bears are back in action next Saturday when they travel to play Edward Waters. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
