FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Wykira Johnson-Kelly scored eight of the final 11 points to lift the Lady Tigers over Fayetteville State University, 56-55, in a non-conference women's basketball game on Saturday.

Benedict improves to 15-2 overall, while Fayetteville State drops to 9-8.

Ay'Anna Bey led the Lady Tigers with 15 points and nine rebounds. Johnson-Kelly also added 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

Camryn Bostick started off the scoring for Benedict giving the Lady Tigers a 4-0 lead early. Benedict had six different players find the bottom of the bucket in the first quarter helping to take a 19-8 lead after one quarter.

A 7-0 run for Fayetteville State closed the gap to 19-15 with 6:42 remaining in the half. The Lady Tigers held a 25-24 lead at halftime. The Lady Broncos finished the comeback just over halfway through the third quarter, tying the game at 35-35. Benedict found themselves trailing 40-37 heading into the final quarter.

Octavia Hawkins went on a 6-0 run by herself to put the Lady Tigers back on top, 43-40, with 7:33 remaining. There were a total of nine lead changes in the final seven minutes of the game. After Benedict fell behind 52-47, a pair of three-point plays in the final 2:30 by Johnson-Kelly and another by Hannah Stull put the Lady Tigers up 56-55 with three seconds remaining. Shanassia White blocked the potential game-winning layup as time expired to clinch the victory for Benedict.

Benedict's bench outscored Fayetteville State 34-4 including 17-1 in the fourth quarter. Turnovers were a problem for the Lady Tigers as they turned the ball over 23 times compared to only 15 for the Lady Broncos.

Benedict will host Albany State University on Monday at 5:30 p.m. in a Martin Luther King Day conference showdown in the HRC Arena.