COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College women's basketball team made up for poor shooting by turning up the defensive pressure and cruised to a 68-44 victory over Lane College in an SIAC matchup Monday evening at the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.

Benedict shot 31.9 percent for the game, making just 23 of 72 attempts. But the Lady Tigers held the Lady Dragons to a dismal shooting performance as well and outrebounded Lane 62-44 to improve to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the SIAC before taking a month-long break.

“Our defense is pretty much our identity,” said Benedict coach Felicia Jenkins. “We shot the ball horribly, so we had to rely heavily on our defense.”

Benedict took a 28-20 halftime lead over Lane, now 0-3 overall and 0-2 in the SIAC, and quickly built the lead to double digits in the second half. A 3-pointer by LaTeia Brailey with 8:43 left in the game gave Benedict its biggest lead at 56-31, capping off a 14-1 run by the Lady Tigers.

Monique Weathers and Brailey led Benedict with 13 points each. Bridget Williams added 10 points. Brittany Jackson had a team-high 13 rebounds and Alexus Jones had a team-high nine assists and had five of Benedict's 15 steals in the game.

Katora Fleming led Lane with 13 points, while Terryn Offiong added 10 points. Lane shot 32.8 percent for the game, making 19 of 58 shots.

Benedict finished with 27 offensive rebounds, compared to 15 for Lane.

“We're still winning ballgames, but not playing our best,” Jenkins said. “That's a credit to our defense. Now we've got some time to clear up a lot of things and come back in January full force ready to go.”

Benedict returns to action on January 2, hitting the road for the first time this season against SIAC member Clark Atlanta.

At halftime of the men's game, members of the 2009 team which won the SIAC Tournament were recognized and received their championship rings.