COLUMBIA, S.C. – Even at their best, the Benedict College Lady Tigers were never a match for the University of South Carolina Lady Gamecocks. In an exhibition game Monday night, the rebuilding Lady Tigers were far from their best.
 
With a roster dominated by freshman and limited to nine healthy players, Benedict was overwhelmed by the defending national champion Lady Gamecocks, as they used their superior height advantage to control the game in a 123-32 victory.
 
Benedict couldn't do anything inside against the bigger Lady Gamecocks. South Carolina scored 70 of their 123 points (57 percent) in the paint. Benedict scored just six points in the paint. The Lady Gamecocks out-rebounded Benedict 70-29 and had a 27-5 advantage on second-chance points. USC outscored Benedict 31-1 in the fourth quarter.
 
Unable to do anything inside, the Lady Tigers were forced to shoot from the outside. Benedict attempted 37 3-pointers, making five (11.1 percent). More than 60 percent of their shot attempts in the game were 3-pointers.
 
Freshman Adiyah Owens and Shakera Duncan led the Lady Tigers with eight points each. Owens went 3-of-21 from the floor and 2-of-16 on 3-pointers, while Duncan was 3-of-11 from the floor and 1-of-5 on 3-pointers.
 
"We're a really young team," Benedict head coach James Rice said. "I really didn't know what our young ladies were going to do as far as competing when we got on that stage. They tried. We're a long way from where we're trying to get to, but it was nice to see them compete. If you look at the points, it looked like we didn't compete at all. But we did. We went out there and tried our best. I like my team right now. We're going to get better."