SAVANNAH, GA – The Savannah Steel couldn’t hold onto an early spark, falling 86-74 to the Charlotte Crown at Enmarket Arena. Despite the loss, the Steel showed genuine energy and joy throughout the game, anchored by an electric 27-point interior performance from forward Zee Spearman.
Savannah set the tone early with aggressive frontcourt execution. Zee Spearman and Olivia Cochran dominated inside, propelling the Steel to a 19-9 lead at the end of the first quarter while holding Charlotte to just 17% shooting from the field. The team played with a clear rhythm, feeding off strong individual efforts down low.
“I feel like it was most definitely a post game today,” Spearman said after the game. “I feel like we took advantage of that in the first half. What we’ve been working on is finally being shown.”
The Crown flipped the momentum in the second quarter. Driven by a second-unit spark led by Kirsten Deans, Charlotte erased Savannah’s early lead with a 12-0 run. Crown Head Coach Trisha Stafford-Odom praised her bench’s impact during that stretch.
“Our second unit was amazing, and KK Deans was leading that. People may not understand the value of leadership, calming, putting people in places, and just playing with a sense of confidence, and she definitely has added that to our team.”
Deja Kelly poured in 20 points for the Crown, while Lele Grissett chipped in 16 off the bench to help Charlotte reclaim control.
Charlotte took over after the break, outscoring Savannah 29-15 in the third quarter. Though Que Morrison added 16 points to keep Savannah within reach, the Steel generated only 15 points in each of the final two quarters.
Steel Interim Head Coach Toccara Ross highlighted her frontcourt’s mindset despite the defensive lapses in the second half.
“Our bigs were fantastic. They rose to the occasion today. Z stepped up in ways that she could do every night if she wanted to. A lot of this comes down to them having to choose to be dominant or not, and tonight, with the loss, they still chose to be very dominant for us.”
Though Charlotte pulled away for the 12-point victory, Savannah displayed clear signs of building the chemistry and joy that Coach Ross has prioritized for the group.
“I’m still proud of my team, even though we didn’t get the outcome we wanted,” Cochran added. “I feel like we’re taking steps to get our joy back in this game, and I feel like that’s what’s been holding us back.”
The Steel are still hunting their first team win under Coach Ross’ leadership, and will try to do just that next Friday, July 31, as they look to begin an 8-game road trip starting down I95 against the Jacksonville Waves. That game will tip off at 7 P.M. Single-game and season tickets can be purchased on the Savannah Steel website or by calling (912) 494-2868.
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