COLUMBIA, S.C. – The
Benedict College women's basketball team advanced in the 2026 SIAC Men's and Women's Basketball Championship presented by Toyota by staging a strong second-half rally to defeat
Central State 63-58 on Saturday at C.A. Johnson High School.
Benedict, the third seed from the East Division, outscored Central State, the sixth seed from the West Division, 21-7 in the third quarter to take the lead and held on during the fourth quarter.
The Lady Tigers improved to 17-8 overall, while Central State wrapped up its season at 6-22. Benedict advances to face Lane College, the second seed from the West, at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 5 in the Arena at Southlake in Morrow, Ga.
The Lady Marauders led most of the first half, holding a 16-10 lead at the end of the first quarter and had its largest lead, 31-19, late in the second quarter. Central State led 33-23 at the half.
The Lady Tigers opened the third quarter with a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 35-32. A layup by
Raven Johnson gave Benedict its first lead since early in the first quarter, 38-37, with 4:51 left in the third quarter. Benedict took a 44-40 lead heading into the final period.
Alaysia Nash hit a 3-pointer, and
Ghylissa Knowles scored a layup to increase the lead to 51-43 with 7:27 left to play. Knowles hit a 3-pointer with 3:30 remaining to give the Lady Tigers a 57-48 lead.
Central State hit a 3-pointer with 58 seconds remaining to get within 60-56, but the Lady Tigers answered with a jumper by
Kayla Fisher and the Lady Tigers closed out the game.
Knowles hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points for the Lady Tigers.
Gwendasia Page added 12 points. Fisher grabbed a Benedict career-high 12 rebounds.
Benedict split two regular season meetings against Lane. The Dragons won 73-59 in Columbia in December, and Benedict took a dominating 70-47 victory in Jackson, Tenn., on Feb. 10.
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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 (HBCUs) 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 nine men's and seven women's sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II. For more information, visit
www.thesiac.com.