By: Destiny Hartwell
The Savannah Steel appeared poised to open their five-game series against the Jacksonville Waves with a statement win Wednesday afternoon, but a fourth-quarter rally by the league leaders spoiled the effort as Jacksonville escaped Enmarket Arena with an 88-84 victory.
The loss dropped Savannah to 7-11 on the season, while Jacksonville improved to 13-4. The victory also extended the Waves’ season advantage over the Steel to 4-0 across all meetings between the two clubs, despite Wednesday serving as the opener of a new five-game series.
The Steel controlled much of the afternoon, overcoming an early deficit and taking a 68-57 lead into the fourth quarter after outscoring the Waves 48-34 over the second and third periods.
Jacksonville answered with its best basketball when it mattered most.
The Waves erupted for 31 points in the final quarter while holding Savannah to just 16, shooting 50 percent from the field and connecting on 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 head coach Jessica Bogia said. “We just kept saying we trusted our defense and that the shots would begin to fall. Eventually they did.”
Savannah placed five players in double figures or within one point of it, led by Iyana Moore and Lauryn Taylor with 19 points apiece. Taylor also grabbed seven rebounds, while Moore added four assists and two steals.
Dyaisha Fair finished with 14 points and four assists; Zee Spearman scored 10 points off the bench, and newcomer Najai Pollard made an immediate impact in her Steel debut with nine points despite joining the team just days earlier.
The Steel also showed improvement in one of their biggest areas of emphasis, finishing with 19 assists and only nine turnovers.
“I think we took a step in that direction,” Savannah head coach Coretta Brown said. “We wanted to flip it and have more assists than turnovers, which we were able to do tonight.”
Despite the cleaner offensive execution, Brown pointed to another statistic that proved decisive.
Jacksonville dominated the offensive glass with 20 offensive rebounds, leading to a 19-9 advantage in second-chance points while also outscoring 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.”
Bogia credited her team’s ability to adjust after struggling from the perimeter through the first three quarters.
Shyanne Sellers led Jacksonville with a game-high 23 points, while Lindsey Pulliam added 17 and Rennia Davis finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.
The contest featured 11 lead changes and five ties, with Savannah holding the lead for more than 26 minutes before Jacksonville closed the game with its decisive run.
Coach Brown believes her young team continues to show flashes of its potential but is still searching for consistency.
“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.”
With the defeat, Savannah will look to regroup quickly before meeting Jacksonville again Friday, hoping to end the Waves’ dominance in the season series.
The Savannah Steel will continue their five-game series against the Jacksonville Waves on Friday, July 10, with Game 2 tipping off at 7 p.m. at home. For single-game or season tickets, visit the Savannah Steel website or call (912) 494-2868 for more information or to purchase.
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