Box Score
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College Lady Tigers survived a poor shooting night and rallied to defeat Claflin University, 65-56, on Thursday night in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.
Monique Weathers led the Lady Tigers with 13 points, while
Kaiya Elliott had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Dreu Wilkins added 10 points.
Maya Nelson had a team-high 13 rebounds. Benedict improves to 15-12 overall and 12-3 in the SIAC.
After easily defeating Claflin by 42 points two weeks ago in Orangeburg, the Lady Tigers found themselves up against a much more determined opponent this time. The Lady Panthers jumped out to an early 16-4 lead and had their biggest lead, 18-5, with 10:06 left in the first half.
Benedict started to come back with a 3-pointer by Wilkins making it 20-16. A layup by
Maya Nelson with 2:10 left in the half gave Benedict its first lead since the opening basket, 25-24. The Lady Tigers took a 28-24 lead into the half.
The second half was a close battle, with Claflin tying the contest at 35 with 13:20 left to play. With Benedict holding a 39-38 lead, the Lady Panthers scored five straight points, getting a 3-pointer by Talaya Robinson with 10:20 left to play.
Claflin held a 45-40 lead when Benedict's
Chelsea Whittaker hit a 3-pointer with 8:36 left to play to cut the lead to two points. A jumper by Laquanda Williams made it 47-43 with 7:09 left. Benedict then took control by scoring the next 14 points, including six from Weathers on four free throws and a jumper, and a pair of layups from Elliott. Elliott's second layup gave Benedict a 57-47 lead with 3:39 left to play and the Lady Tigers were able to hang on for the victory.
Claflin dropped to 5-21 overall and 4-12 in the SIAC. Robinson led the Lady Panthers with 20 points.
Benedict shot 32 percent for the game, including 27.9 percent in the first half. The Lady Tigers also had 27 turnovers.
Benedict wraps up the 2012-13 regular season on Saturday at Paine. Benedict can clinch the top seed in the SIAC East Division with a win over Paine.
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