Savannah Steel let late lead slip away in loss to Jacksonville Waves

SAVANNAH, Ga. —

The Savannah Steel appeared on the verge of opening their five-game series against the Jacksonville Waves with a statement victory Wednesday afternoon before Jacksonville used a fourth-quarter surge to escape Enmarket Arena with an 88-84 win.

The loss dropped Savannah to 7-11, while Jacksonville improved to 13-4. The Waves also extended their season edge over the Steel to 4-0.

Savannah controlled much of the game after overcoming an early deficit, taking a 68-57 lead into the fourth quarter after outscoring Jacksonville 48-34 in the second and third periods.

Jacksonville responded with 31 points in the final quarter while holding Savannah to 16. The Waves shot 50% from the field in the fourth and made all three of their 3-point attempts during the comeback.

“I thought we executed fine offensively. We just couldn’t buy a bucket for a long time,” Jacksonville coach Jessica Bogia said. “We just kept saying we trusted our defense and that the shots would begin to fall. Eventually they did.”

Savannah had balanced scoring, led by Iyana Moore and Lauryn Taylor with 19 points each. Taylor added seven rebounds, while Moore had four assists and two steals.

Dyaisha Fair scored 14 points and had four assists, Zee Spearman added 10 points off the bench, and Najai Pollard scored nine points in her debut after joining the team earlier in the week.

The Steel also showed progress in ball movement and decision-making, finishing with 19 assists and nine turnovers.

“I think we took a step in that direction,” Savannah coach Coretta Brown said. “We wanted to flip it and have more assists than turnovers, which we were able to do tonight.”

Still, Brown said rebounding remained the deciding factor.

Jacksonville grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and turned them into a 19-9 advantage in second-chance points. The Waves also outscored Savannah 40-24 in the paint.

“The offensive rebounds continue to be our Achilles’ heel,” Brown said. “Anytime you’re giving up 20 offensive rebounds to the number one team in the conference, it’s going to be a long night. The rebounding absolutely killed us.”

Shyanne Sellers led Jacksonville with a game-high 23 points. Lindsey Pulliam added 17 points, and Rennia Davis finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.

The game featured 11 lead changes and five ties, though Savannah led for more than 26 minutes before Jacksonville closed with the decisive run.

“We show spurts of being a really good team, and then we show spurts of not being a really good team,” Brown said. “We’re just trying to piece it all together and put together a 40-minute game.”

Savannah and Jacksonville meet again Friday at Enmarket Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.