TUSKEGEE, Ala. – Tuskegee held off a furious Benedict fourth-quarter rally to edge the 23
rd-ranked Lady Tigers 90-88 on Saturday afternoon.
Tuskegee, now 11-1, had a 73-58 lead after scoring the first basket in the fourth quarter. Tuskegee still led 81-71 with 4:59 remaining when the Lady Tigers rallied by scoring the next seven points, five coming from
Ay'Anna Bey, to trim the lead to 81-78 with 3:27 on the clock. Tuskegee pushed the lead back to 87-78 with 2:14 remaining. A three-point play by Bey got Benedict to within 88-86 with 1:10 left. Tuskegee hit a pair of free throws with 36 seconds left. Bey scored with 30 seconds left for the final 90-88 score.
Benedict, now 8-2 on the season, had an 8-7 lead in the first quarter before Tuskegee took the lead and built as much as a 10-point advantage, 24-14. In the second quarter, Tuskegee had as much as a 12-point lead, 36-24, before Benedict rallied to tie the game at 42-42 on a layup by
Shanassia White with 2:47 left in the first half.
Bey scored a season-high 37 points to lead the Lady Tigers, and grabbed 10 rebounds. White also had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Octavia Hawkins added 13 points and
Ayanna Armstead chipped in 10 points.
India Blakely led Tuskegee with 28 points.
Benedict and Tuskegee will wrap up the final contest of their four-game series on Sunday in Tuskegee at 2 p.m.
