RICHMOND, Va. – The 15^th-ranked Benedict College Lady Tigers shot just 27 percent and dropped their season-opener to 14^th-ranked Virginia Union University 97-52 on Saturday.

Benedict connected on 18 of 67 field goal attempts, and made just five of 33 3-point attempts.

Virginia Union used an 11-0 run early in the game to take a 14-3 lead and never looked back. The Lady Panthers built as much as a 21-point lead late in the second quarter and had a 27-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Virginia Union outscored Benedict 26-8 in the fourth quarter.

Shanaissa White and Zairra Harris led Benedict with 12 points each. MiKeisha Moore and Destiny Betts had eight rebounds each. Benedict, the NCAA Division II rebounding champion for the past two seasons, was outrebounded by Virginia Union 62-35.

Benedict, now 0-1, travels to Aiken on Wednesday to take on USC-Aiken at 6 p.m.