COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College Tigers are set to face the LeMoyne-Owen Magicians in the SIAC Tournament semifinals at 5:30 p.m. at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center.

Benedict will be looking to advance to the SIAC championship game for the first time since the 2016-17 season. Benedict went on to win the conference championship that year.

Despite a slow start, Benedict outlasted Paine College in the quarterfinals, 82-62, off a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds from Ay'Anna Bey, the two-time SIAC Player of the Year. Wykira Johnson-Kelly also added 19 points, scoring 14 of her 19 points in the final four minutes of the game.

"We play it one possession at a time. We knew it was a big game going into it so we had to make sure we did not lose focus," said Bey after the Paine victory.

Coach James Rice added, "I am very proud of the [team]. I knew Paine was not going to give up."

Benedict defeated LeMoyne-Owen College 66-57 on Dec. 2 in Columbia. Johnson-Kelly led the way for the Lady Tigers with 16 points, while Amaya Ashby had a season-high 10 rebounds.

The sixth-seeded Lady Magicians are coming off arguably their best game of the year in a 68-56 quarterfinal victory over second-seed Central State. LeMoyne-Owen outrebounded Central State 46-31 and outscored them in the paint, 42-20. LeMoyne-Owen is 4-0 in their last four games when outshooting their opponent from beyond the arc. The Lady Magicians also rank first in the SIAC in fewest turnovers this season.

Lamontazia Blair (16.52 points per game), Gabbie Morgan (11.84 points per game), and Amil Mitchell (10.62 points per game) all score in double-figures for LeMoyne-Owen, with Blair averaging 27 points per game and five rebounds per game in the conference tournament. The winner between the Lady Tigers and Lady Magicians will advance to the championship game, which will be played Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center.

Daily general admission tickets are $10. Tickets for Saturday's championship contest are $20. An all-tournament pass is $50. Youths 18 and under will be admitted free. SIAC students will be admitted free with their student ID. Tickets can be purchased online here.

The tournament will be streamed live by FloSports here. Streaming plans start at $12.50 per month. Live stats are available here.