TUSKEGEE, Ala. I Tuskegee women's basketball dropped an overtime game against Benedict by a score of 81-73 on Thursday afternoon in the semifinal round of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Tournament inside the Rock Hill Sport & Event Center.
After outscoring Benedict 19-10 in the fourth quarter to force the extra period, Tuskegee (22-5, 15-3 SIAC) could not close out the game in the final minutes to advance to the championship game, falling in overtime. Benedict outscored the Golden Tigers 16-8 in the final period, including going 7-for-9 from the free throw line to close out the game.
The two teams traded scores to start the game, before Benedict jumped out to a 17-9 lead by pounding the offensive boards, grabbing ten total in the quarter.
The Golden Tigers responded with a 6-0 run with just under two minutes to play in the quarter with scores from
Aaliyah Austin (Satsuma, Ala.) and
Brittney Bolin (Trophy Club, Texas) on consecutive possessions, along with a late jumper from
JuToreyia Willis (Chattanooga, Tenn.) to close the quarter trailing by just two at 17-15.
After finding themselves trailing 24-17 in the second, Tuskegee responded to climb back once again, this time with 12-0 run led by scores from Bolin,
Amariah Stanard (Stone Mountain, Ga.), and Willis to take the 29-24 lead with 2:44 left to play in the quarter and went into the locker room tied at 30-30.
Benedict came out hot again in the third, gaining eight-point leads on two separate occasions before Tuskegee reduced the lead to 47-42 after a basket from
India Blakely (Troy, Ala.), however Benedict went on the offensive again with an 8-4 run to end the quarter and led 55-46 heading into the fourth.
Tuskegee finished the game shooting 39.2 (29-for-74) percent from the field, 70 (14-for-20) percent from the free throw line and made just one three in the game.
Willis led the way for the Golden Tigers with 18 points along with four rebounds, while
Ashiala Jackson (Merrillville, Ind.) added 14 points and six rebounds, followed by Blakely who scored 13 points and dished out nine assists.
Wykira Johnson-Kelly led four double figure scorers for Benedict with 20 points, followed by Ay'anna Bey with 16 and six rebounds. Meanwhile, Keondra Archie and Ayanna Armstead added 14 and 12 points respectively.
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