SAVANNAH, GA - Day one of women’s bracket opened with an upset and defensive battle that sent
LeMoyne-Owen and
Spring Hill to an early exit.
Benedict (4-23, 1-18 SIAC), the number seven seed in the east division, defeated LeMoyne-Owen (13-14, 8-11 SIAC), the number six seed in the west division, 54-51 after fighting off a late effort surge by the Lady Magicians in the fourth quarter.
After falling to a 10-point deficit in the second quarter, the Lady Magicians tied the game twice in the final two minutes of the game but were unable to take the lead.
Benedict out-performed the LeMoyne-Owen shooting a 32 percent from the field and 17 percent from the three-point line compared to LeMoyne-Owen shooting 20 percent and 11 percent in the same stat lines.
Taylor Christmas led the Lady Tigers with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Benedict will advance to the second round where the team will face
Clark Atlanta (14-11, 11-8 SIAC), the number three seed in the east division, at noon on Wednesday at Tiger Arena.
Albany State (6-22, 5-14 SIAC), the number six seed in the east division, consolidated their regular season win over Spring Hill (6-18, 6-13 SIAC), the number seven seed in the west division, 58-41 in the final women’s first round matchup.
The Badgers struck first, scoring a two-point jumper to start the game, but the team lost the lead moments later and never regained it.
After a low scoring first half by both teams, the Lady Rams had more offensive productivity in the third quarter squaring 24 points, extended their lead to 17 points to start the fourth quarter.
Milana Holmes was the leading scorer for Albany State and recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Lady Rams will take on
Lane (13-13, 11-8 SIAC), the number three seed in the west division, in the second round on Wednesday afternoon at five at Tiger Arena.
The 2024 SIAC Basketball Tournament presented by Cricket is being hosted at Savannah State University from round one to the semifinals on March 3-9. The championship games will be played at Enmarket Arena on March 10. All tournament games are streaming on ESPN+. Visit the tournament
championship page for more information, and follow the SIAC on
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About the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC)
The SIAC is a NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of historically black colleges and universities with headquarters in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The SIAC includes 15 member institutions (Albany State University, Allen University, Benedict College, Central State University, Clark Atlanta University, Edward Waters University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University), which are located within a contiguous seven-state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio). The SIAC sponsors seven men's and six women's sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II. For more information, visit
www.thesiac.com.