Powered by a strong second half and four players in double figures, No. 2 seed Savannah State ended eighth-seed UMES' historic run with a 65-47 win in the women's basketball championship game Saturday afternoon at Norfolk Scope Arena, winning its first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title.
The Tigers (21-10) earned the MEAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament; they will learn their opponent, location and date when the bracket is unveiled Monday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
Jasmine Norman led the way for Savannah State with 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting, while Ezinne Kalu added 16 points and Bria Dorsey chipped in 12.
Tiyonda Davis added 10 points and a team-high 16 rebounds.
Norman was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, while Kalu was named to the all-tournament team. Savannah State coach Cedric Baker, who was named MEAC Coach of the Year, also earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Coach honor.
Even though UMES led only briefly in the game, the first half was a tight back-and-forth affair in which the Tigers never led by more than two possessions.
A layup from Davis at the 10:42 mark gave Savannah State a 20-16 lead before the Hawks, playing their fourth game in five days, used a 6-2 spurt to tie the game at 22 after a layup by Mariah McCoy.
Norman broke that tie with a jumper 13 seconds later before Shawney Sweeney gave UMES its only lead of the game, hitting a 3-pointer at the 6:09 mark to put the Hawks up 25-24.
But Savannah State held UMES scoreless for the rest of the half, while scoring six more points — taking a 30-25 lead at the 3:09 mark.
The momentum the Tigers established in the closing minutes of the first half carried over into the second half, while the magic appeared to finally run out for UMES, which had upset the No. 1 and No. 4 seeds to advance to the championship game.
Savannah State jumped out and took control after the break, going up 38-25 before UMES scored.
Montclair State 68, Salisbury 44: Sarah Seipp had 13 points, but the Sea Gulls (28-3) fell to the host Red Hawks (30-1) in an NCAA Division III section final.
Montclair State led 42-27 at halftime.