COLUMBIA, S.C. – In a battle of unbeatens, the 23^rd-ranked Benedict College Lady Tigers held off a second-half rally and beat Tuskegee 67-58 on Wednesday night in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.

Benedict improves to 8-0, while Tuskegee goes to 9-1 after their first loss. The game was a rematch of last year's SIAC Championship, and the first of four consecutive games between the two schools.

Ay'Anna Bey led the Lady Tigers with 19 points. Keondra Archie added a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Ayanna Armstead also had 13 points, while Wykira Johnson-Kelly chipped in 12 points.

Benedict had a 43-25 lead at the half, but struggled in the second half, making just 5-of-34 field goals (14.7 percent), including just one of 15 3-point attempts in the second half (6.7 percent).

Tuskegee trimmed the lead to 51-38 heading to the fourth quarter. Tuskegee scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 51-46 with 7:44 left in the game. A jumper by Shanassia White gave Benedict a double-digit lead again, 58-48 with 5:21 remaining, but Tuskegee went on a 7-1 run to cut the lead to 59-55 with 2:27 on the clock. Armstead scored a layup with 46 seconds left and the Lady Tigers sealed the game at the free-throw line, making all six attempts in the final 23 seconds.

Tuskegee shot 32.3 percent (21-of-65), compared to Benedict's 25.4 percent (18-of-71), but the Lady Golden Tigers struggled at the free-throw line, making just 11-of-28 attempts (39.3 percent). Benedict made 27-of-32 from the line (84.4 percent). Benedict out-rebounded Tuskegee 58-47.

The two teams will square off again on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the HRC Arena, before taking the series to Tuskegee for a pair of games on Saturday and Sunday.