Box Score
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Freshman Jessica Ellison, who had scored just six points all season, scored 14 points to help lead the Benedict College Lady Tigers to an 81-74 victory over Fort Valley State University on Monday night.

Brittany Jackson had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds as Benedict held off a furious late rally by the Lady Wildcats.

The win over Fort Valley State was Benedict's first since the 2007 SIAC Tournament championship game. Since then, the Lady Tigers had dropped 12 straight games to the Lady Wildcats, the two-time defending SIAC champions.

Monique Weathers added 13 points and Kaiya Elliott had 12 points for Benedict, which improved to 9-11 overall and 6-2 in the SIAC with their sixth win in the last seven games.

Jayme Gilbert had 18 points for Fort Valley State, which fell to 9-8 overall and 5-3 in the SIAC. Carmenonique Dawson added 16 points.

Benedict took a 42-33 lead at the half, and built the lead to 59-41 on a 3-pointer by Chelsea Whittaker.

The Lady Tigers had a 71-56 lead after a free throw by Ellison with 6:12 left to play when the Lady Wildcats made a late run.

A layup by Monique Weathers made the score 74-60 with 5:43 left to play, but Fort Valley State went on a 7-1 run to trim the lead under double digits, 75-67, on a layup by Dominique Collier.

Two free throws by Alexus Jones gave Benedict a 78-69 lead with 2:56 left to play, but Gilbert hit a 3-pointer and a layup to bring Fort Valley State to within four points, 78-74, with 1:31 left to play. But Benedict hit three free throws in the last 50 seconds to secure the win.

Benedict is off until next Monday, when they travel to play Clark Atlanta University.