BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Benedict College women's basketball team rallied from a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Tuskegee 80-69 to advance to the quarterfinals of the SIAC Women's Basketball Tournament on Monday in the Bill Harris Arena.

The Lady Tigers, the two-time tournament defending champions, improved to 10-16 overall and will take on Central State, the top seed from the West Division, in a quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Benedict had a 30-23 lead at the half, and the Lady Tigers pushed the lead to 14 points, 48-34, after a pair of free throws by Shirvel Luke with 5:36 left in the period. Benedict was outscored 20-4 over the final five and a half minutes, and Tuskegee rallied to take a 54-52 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

A pair of free throws by Taylor Miller gave Tuskegee a 61-54 lead with 6:38 remaining. Benedict scored the next eight points, all but two coming from the free-throw line, to regain the lead, 62-61 with 4:29 remaining.

Two free throws by MiKeisha Moore tied the game at 68 with 1:46 remaining, and Ay'Anna Bey added two more from the line with 1:21 on the clock. The turning point came with 52 seconds left, when Ayanna Armstead scored on a fast-break layup and Moore hit two free throws from a technical foul on Tuskegee with 44 seconds left for a 74-68 lead. Benedict sealed the game at the free-throw line, connecting on all six attempts in the final 37 seconds.

The Lady Tigers connected on 37-of-47 free throws (78.7 percent), while Tuskegee struggled at the line, missing nearly half of their free throws (21-of-40, 52.5 percent).

Bey led the Lady Tigers with 27 points, getting 17 from the free-throw line, while also grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds. Moore added 18 points.