Top seeds across divisions joined SIAC tournament play in the quarterfinals after receiving a doble-bye and executed a clean sweep against lower seeded teams.
Savannah State (20-5, 15-4 SIAC), the east division first seed, hit the hardwood for the first time this postseason in the team’s quarterfinal 81-68 win over the west division fourth seed and defending SIAC tournament champions
Tuskegee (15-10, 11-8 SIAC).
The Golden Tigers competed with the Lady Tigers in the first half keeping the score close, before Savannah State went on a 20-8 run in the third quarter outscoring Tuskegee 25-12 in the period.
Nyla Allen lead the Lady Tigers in scoring with 21 points, one point short of tying her season-best. The team performed better than season averages in all categories shooting 27-55 (49.1%) from the floor, 7-15 (46.7%) from the three-point range and 20-28 (71.4%) at the free-throw line.
Miles (21-6, 15-4 SIAC), the west division second seed, defeated
Clark Atlanta (14-12, 11-8 SIAC), the east division third seed, 56-54 in a game that went down to the wire in the final minutes.
The Lady Panthers trailed the majority of the game with Miles holding a 14-point lead late in the third quarter, its largest of the game. Clark Atlanta managed to tie the score at 54 with 2:24 left in the game after going on a 18-9 fourth quarter run. Miles’
Tederia Ashley answered by making a layup the following possession for put her team in the lead. In the following series, the Lady Bears locked down on defense forcing the Clark Atlanta to go 0-4 in the final two minutes of the game.
Imani Williams led Miles with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Feliah Greer and
Iemyiah Harris also both had large offensive impacts with 11 points each.
Miles will face Savannah State in the semifinals on Saturday morning at 10. The two teams met twice in regular season with Miles winning 68-45 in the first matchup and Savannah State winning the second game 56-51.
Kentucky State (20-6, 16-4 SIAC), west division first seed, powered past
Central State (12-15, 9-11 SIAC), the west division fifth seed, winning 74-67.
The Thorobreds struck first and never trailed for the remainder of the game, growing the lead to as much as 19 points late in the third quarter. The Lady Marauders’ starting lineup struggled offensively, and to their misfortune the 36 points put up by the bench was not enough to overcome the deficit.
The SIAC Player of the Year,
Gracen Kerr, led Kentucky State with 21 points.
Taleah Dilworth was the second leading scoring with 15 points, and
Erica Jones brought down seven rebounds and put up 13 points for the Thorobreds.
Fort Valley State (15-10, 13-7 SIAC), the east division second seed, remained undefeated this season against its divisional rival
Albany State (7-23, 5-15 SIAC), the east division six seed, in the 59-48 victory.
The Wildcats started the game hot, shooting over 50 percent from floor and behind the arc in the first half to build a 13-point halftime lead. The Lady Rams went on a 8-1 run to shrink the deficit to five points midway through the fourth quarter, but it was quickly halted when
Aaniyah Allen made three consecutive scores to reinforce the Wildcats lead late in the fourth quarter.
Allen scored a season high 27 points, and
Shekinah Rachel recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Fort Valley State will meet Kentucky State in the semifinal on Saturday afternoon at 12:30. The teams crossed paths in mid-December for a regular season contest in which the Thorobreds mounted a fourth quarter comeback on the road to win 68-61.
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.