COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College Tigers will finish off the regular men's and women's basketball season on Tuesday night against Allen, and it will be a special night for 11 seniors.

Ay'Anna Bey has made a lasting impact both as a women's basketball player, but also as a student at Benedict College. Here are what others are saying about Benedict's all-time leading scorer and rebounder: ___
James Rice, Benedict Head Coach -- She is one of the BEST student athletes to ever represent Benedict College women's basketball during my head coaching era. We are aware of the impact that she has made as a student athlete, but what a lot of people don't know is that she's had a positive influence on not only the campus of Benedict College, but also throughout the community. Ay'Anna is a genuine person, and it has truly been a blessing to have Ay'Anna choose this institution to receive a quality education and play for the Lady Tigers. She is a great student, a prolific athlete, and her work ethic on and off the court is incredible. She is truly one of a kind.
Ayanna Armstead, teammate – "First and foremost, Ay'Anna Bey is a heck of a friend. She's always been there, and the one I can call on when I needed something. As far as Benedict women's basketball, coming in as freshmen, we had to be leaders ourselves. She always set the tempo and the one everyone followed. Following her was always a good thing. I appreciate her for that. As far as reaching her goals, she deserves it. She works really hard day in and day out, every day, all day, she does what she can for the betterment of the team and she's a heck of a teammate." ___
Camryn Bostick, teammate – "Honestly, Ay'Anna over the years has been my main motivation of why I continue to play basketball and play at that level. When you're surrounded by someone so great, you want to be just as great. I knew she was always great and knew she was capable of doing what she did, which is a very big accomplishment. She's worked hard enough for it and she deserves nothing less than what she has gotten. As a friend and a teammate, she is my main inspiration and I'm very proud of her." ___
William Hatten, volunteer women's basketball assistant coach – "She's been the face of the program for the last five years, and I don't think there's been a better player, we know number-wise, and even winning-wise, nobody's been able to put up the numbers she's been able to. But just her character, the way she carries herself about being a captain, being a leader. She's probably one of the reasons I came back to help Coach Rice this year, because of Ay'Anna Bey." ___
Valerie Brown-Locklin, Benedict College Athletic Hall of Fame four-sport inductee, including women's basketball – "Watching Ay'Anna Bey is awesome. Being a basketball player myself, and being the go-to player myself when I was here, I just can't imagine seeing someone as awesome as her on defense as well as offense. I think she's a very well-rounded person. She's outstanding and I enjoy watching her play." ___
Sul Black, Benedict alum and women's basketball fan – "I have been following Benedict women's basketball for over 20 years, and I just admire from year-to-year how the girls improve their game. As far as Ay'Anna Bey, she is awesome. I love watching her get those rebounds and when they run those plays. I like the way she catches that ball and puts it back up. She's just an asset to Benedict College and women's basketball." ___
Willie Washington, Benedict Director of Athletics – "We wish her well in all her endeavors, and we hope we can continue the winning streak we're on and move on the conference and from the conference to the regionals and then to the nationals. One of our goals should be getting to the nationals and playing well, and hopefully to win the national championship one day, and she can certainly help us get there. We're hoping this is the year to get there." ___
Bridget Williams, Benedict assistant coach – "Ay'Anna Bey has had an impact on the women's basketball program in many ways. She's dependable on and off the court. If you ask her to do something she will do it without getting an attitude. She steps up when the coaches aren't around and leads the team during film sessions, practices, and game warmups. She isn't afraid to take charge to help get her teammates all on the same page." ___
Gregory Moore, Commissioner of the SIAC – ""Ay'Anna Bey embodies all the qualities you hope to see in a student-athlete. She's disciplined, a hard worker, and extremely talented. As Benedict's all-time leading scorer and rebounder, she obviously fills up the box score on a nightly basis. But most importantly, Ay'Anna Bey is both a winner and a leader. And it is those last two attributes that have served as among the key factors for all of the success Benedict College has enjoyed as a TEAM. Congratulations Ms. Bey on all of your accomplishments. And as a fellow Jersey kid, please know that from the Garden State to the Palmetto State, you've made a lot of people very very proud." ___
Robert Skinner, Albay State University Head Coach – "Bey has shown a consistent determination to get better and better each year.  She has a wonderful spirit that is contagious.  She has always shown character and class on and off the court in every situation.  On top of all that she has game." ___
Meeghan Kane, Benedict College instructor of History – "Ay'Anna Bey has a fierce intelligence and a quiet confidence, but she's also funny and kind - all of which make her a natural leader in the classroom and on the court. I can't wait to see where she goes and what she does." ___
Loraine Dunbar, Benedict Assistant Athletic Director – "Ay'Anna Bey Is a quiet storm! Her infectious demeanor affects all who come in contact with her. Her off the court involvements included an active member of the W.A.I.T ( Women Athletes Inspiring Teamwork ) Group, various community engagement projects with local middle schools and parks and recreation. She has blazed a trail her four years at Benedict that will be forever honored and her name will be made great to  remember." ___
Samantha Tansey, Benedict athletic trainer – "Her teammates would say that she is a hard worker, her stats tell everyone that she is a talented basketball player, and her coaches would consider her a reliable leader. Off the court though, I've gotten to know her in our athletic training room as not just a basketball player but as a person. She is a major goofball who always brings a smile to my face, even at 5:30 in the morning when we are all exhausted. She is wildly smart and will for sure make a great nurse someday using her empathic qualities to take care of her patients. Ay'anna cannot be simply defined as a Benedict College women's basketball athlete, even though she has spent the past five years proving herself on the court. She and I have talked about many things such as how much she can't wait to start a family and be a mother. I have been very lucky to have spent the last three or so years being her athletic trainer and I know that after she is done at Benedict, she and I will still stay in touch." ___
John Senft, Highland Regional High School Head Coach – Congratulations to Ay'Anna Bey on an amazing career at Benedict College. Her accolades were forged through will and determination. Always one of the hardest working, most dedicated athletes (as well as a wonderful person), Ay'Anna developed into one of the best players in our Highland program history and did the same at Benedict. I'm honored to have had the opportunity to work with Ay'Anna and cannot wait to see what she does with the next chapter of her life!"

The men's team will honor three seniors – Tajh Green, Timothy Bing Jr. and NyQuan McCombs. The women's team will celebrate the end of a successful era with eight seniors – Ayanna Armstead, Mahogany Randall, Wykira Johnson-Kelly, Shanassia White, Keondra Archie, Camryn Bostick, Raevin Kimble and Ay'Anna Bey, who will play her final home game as Benedict College's all-time leading scorer and rebounder.

Bey has scored 2,193 career points in 124 games, which ranks second among active Division II players. She also has 1,160 career rebounds, which ranks seventh among active Division II players. She ranks first among active players with at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

During her career, which spans five seasons, including last year's 15-game Covid-19 season, Bey has garnered numerous awards and accolades, including being named the SIAC Player of the Year following the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. She was named to the Conference Commissioner's Association All-South Region team in 2019 and 2020, as well as honorable mention All-American by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association in 2019. She helped the Lady Tigers to the 2020 SIAC Championship, where she was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player, and was named to the D2 Bulletin All-America fifth team. She has helped guide the program to a current 88-37 record during her five seasons, a 70.4 winning percentage.

Not bad for a player who Coach James Rice recruited on word of mouth and never saw play in person.

After finishing a successful career at Highland Regional High School in Blackwood, N.J., Bey was courted by several colleges, but she said none of them seemed like the right fit.

"I was very undecisive in where I wanted to go and what was a good fit for me," Bey said.

A local coach was helping her in the recruiting process and that person told her he knew a school in South Carolina that might be a good fit.

"He put me in touch with Coach Rice and we talked for a couple of days, and it just felt like the right place," Bey said. "Even my mom said the same thing after talking to Coach Rice, that this would be a safe place for me to be and I would be fine here. I came in blind, and I signed very, very late in the whole process."

After arriving in Columbia, she fell in love with the school and the people.

"I love it here," Bey said. "I stayed for a reason. It's a great program with great fans. You meet great people and you win. You can't go wrong with that."

And now it is nearing an end. The Lady Tigers will look to defend their SIAC title at the conference championship in Rock Hill, and hopefully a berth to the NCAA tournament. But Tuesday will be the final home game for one of Benedict's most talented and popular players of all time.

"It's very bittersweet, after being somewhere for so long and realizing that it's finally going to end," Bey said about playing her final home game for the Lady Tigers. "It's also exciting, to be able to branch off and see what else is out there."

Bey hopes to continue playing basketball professionally after receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in biology in May. And after her playing career ends, she plans on using her Benedict degree to study to be a nurse or an anesthesiologist.

"I always wanted to be in the operation room, but I didn't want to be a surgeon," Bey said. "Learning about other things that happen in the operation room, I got really intrigued about anesthesiologists and what they do and how they work."

Bey's on-court game has evolved from her freshman season, when she was strictly a post player, to an all-around player who can drive to the basket and shoot 3-pointers, having made 100 3-pointers during her career. And early on, she quickly showed strong leadership qualities. She takes the responsibility of team captain seriously, and often organizes and oversees many team practices and meetings.

"Coming in as a freshman, if I wasn't in class, then I was in the gym. If I wasn't in the gym, I was in class," Bey said. "I continued to my sophomore, junior and senior year. And every day I kept working on things I wasn't so good at. I knew I can't always be a back to the basket post, I was going to have to branch out."

She looks back fondly at her time at Benedict and is glad she chose to be a Tiger.

"Sometimes people always want to go to these big schools that have thousands and thousands of people. But you don't realize when you have a small school, you really get to know everybody on campus. You really become a tight-knit family. You know everybody by first name."

And everybody at Benedict knows the name of Ay'Anna Bey, the college's all-time career leader in both points and rebounds.

"Coming in as a freshman, I never expected to do what I did," Bey said. "I knew with the drive I have, I could accomplish anything. I just never knew what anything was until I got it done. I have teammates who pushed me, and they never accepted failure from me, and I really appreciate them for that. It helped me grow as a basketball player, as a teammate, as an all-around person. And Coach Rice and Coach (Bridget) Williams pushed me every day in practice. They always made sure everything I did was top tier. It's an amazing environment here."