PETERSBURG, Va. – The Benedict College Lady Tigers scored the go-ahead basket with 2:45 left to play, and held on for a 58-56 victory over Virginia State University in the Black College Invitational Championship on Friday afternoon in VSU's Multipurpose Center.
Alaysia Nash broke a 56-56 tie on a fast-break layup with 2:45 left in the game. Down the stretch, Benedict missed one field goal attempt and had a turnover, while also missing a pair of free throws. Virginia State missed their final six shots, including a 3-pointer and tip-in in the closing seconds.
The Lady Tigers, now 18-9 overall, will play Bowie State in the BCIC championship game at noon on Saturday. Bowie State defeated Central State 76-42 in the other semifinal. Virginia State falls to 17-9 overall.
Benedict, which has not played since falling to Lane College in the quarterfinals of the SIAC Tournament on March 5, got off to a slow start as the Trojans scored the first 12 points of the game. Benedict cut the lead to 18-15 at the end of the first quarter.
The Lady Tigers took their first lead of the game after a three-point play by
Gwendasia Page made it 23-22 with 8:23 left in the second quarter. Benedict built as much as an eight-point first-half lead, 33-25, before taking a 35-30 lead into the halftime locker room.
The third quarter saw a pair of lead changes in a close battle, with Virginia State holding a 48-47 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Ghylissa Knowles opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to give Benedict the lead. A VSU three-point play gave the Trojans a 56-54 lead with 5:14 remaining. That would be the last points of the game for VSU.
Tatyana Fields tied the game with a layup, and Nash scored the go-ahead basket shortly after.
Page led Benedict with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Nash scored 11 points.
Aliciah Fields chipped in 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Both teams struggled from the floor. Benedict shot 30 percent (21-of-70), while Virginia State shot 39 percent (21-of-51) for the game, but just 3-of-16 (18.75 percent) in the fourth quarter.
