The Miles College Lady Golden Bears defeat the Kentucky State Therobreds 75-72 to capture their first-ever SIAC Championship.
Feliah Greer achieved a career-high of 33 points, clinching the title of SIAC Championship Player of the Game. Iemiyah Harris followed as the Bears’ second-leading scorer with 15 points. Tederia Ashley ended with a double-double, scoring 10 points and securing 14 rebounds.
Miles College entered the SIAC tournament as the number 2 seed in the Western division, a team that had never won an SIAC title. They were set to face the Kentucky State Thorobreds, the number 1 seed in the Western Division. During the regular season, they had split both games they played. This time, a conference title was up for grabs, and neither team wanted to leave Savannah, GA without a ring.
Kentucky State would outperform Miles in the 1st quarter, taking an early 11-5 lead due to the play of Sydyney Thomas who scored 7 points in the 1st quarter. The Theorbreds would shoot 54% in the 1st quarter 60% from three. Miles College on the other hand could not buy a basket, shooting 27% as a team. Golden Bears could not seem to get out of their own way. KSU would take an 11-16 advantage into the 2nd quarter.
Miles dominated the 2nd quarter, with the Golden Bears surging ahead in the first 7 minutes with a 10-0 run, establishing their largest lead of the match at 21-16 with 3:36 remaining. Kentucky State’s performance drastically declined from the 1st quarter, dropping to a mere 33% shooting from the field and 20% from three, after an initial strong start of over 50%. Capitalizing on Theorbreds’ poor shooting, led by Feliah Greer, Iemyiah Harris, and Tederia Ashley, the Golden Bears closed the half with a 27-26 lead.
Feliah Greer started the third quarter determined not to let the game slip away, scoring 7 consecutive points to push Miles ahead by 8 (34-26) with 8:51 left. The Golden Bears shut down the high-powered Kentucky State offense, holding them to a 29% shooting percentage. KSU didn’t score until 6:44 remaining in the half. Miles dominated, scoring 16 points in the paint, 9 in fast breaks, and shooting 47% from the field. They maintained a lead of more than 6 points throughout. The Golden Bears headed into the 4th quarter with a 49-41 advantage.
In the fourth quarter, both teams fought hard with only ten minutes left to decide the SIAC women’s champions. Despite Kentucky struggling in shooting that night, they narrowed the Golden Bears’ lead to just 6 points (55-49) in the 4th quarter, going on a 6-2 run with 6:42 remaining.
Miles College responded as Feliah Greer scored on back-to-back possessions, extending the lead to double digits at 59-49. The game then shifted into a defensive struggle, with both teams going scoreless for 1 minute and 21 seconds. Kentucky State ended the drought at the 4:23 mark when Erica Jones sank two free throws, narrowing the gap to 8 (59-51).
KSU trailed by 6 points with under 3 minutes to go, making it 57-63. Miles College’s Iemiyah Harris responded with a score and two free throws, extending the lead to 67-57. As the game neared its end, KSU narrowed the gap to 71-66 with 0.39 seconds left. Kentucky State fouled Harris, who made 1 of 2 free throws, bringing the score to 72-66.
With just 16.8 seconds remaining, Sydney Thomas from KSU hit a three-pointer, bringing Kentucky State’s deficit to three (72-69). Shortly after, KSU fouled Miles, leading to Imani Williams taking two free throws. Williams made one, raising hopes for KSU. Naja Fenelon then hit a critical three-pointer, narrowing the score to 73-72 with only 3.4 seconds left.
KSU came close to taking the lead for the first time since the 1st half. They fouled Miles College, aiming for missed free throws. However, Feliah Greer made both shots, giving Miles College a 3-point lead of 75-72 with 1.5 seconds remaining. Kentucky State couldn’t attempt a shot before the buzzer, leading to their defeat as Miles College Lady Golden Bears secured their first-ever SIAC championship.
Feliah Greer, who was lost for words, spoke to reporters on the significance of Miles College winning its 1st SIAC championship and her career night.
“I don’t have the words, I mean we got it done. It took the whole team, it took everyone hearing the sideline cheer us on, it got me going.”
“I just knew the team feeds off my energy,” Greer said when asked about her performance. “When I have energy it keeps the team going but man 33 points I have to clap it up for myself. But I’m just proud of the team. I’m proud of everyone. It took everybody to get to this point and I’m just so happy.”
The Kentucky State Thorobreds came into the SIAC tournament as the top seed in the Western Division. The defeat was particularly crushing for some players, evident by tears streaming down their faces as they left the court. Naja Fenelon led the scoring for the Thorobreds with 16 points, supported by Thomas Sydney with 12 points, and Taleah Dilworth finishing with 11 points.
Follow Us
Subscribe
