Benedict Lady Tigers Crush Paine, Advance To SIAC Tournament Semifinals

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama  -- The Benedict College Lady Tigers got double-doubles from Santera Grooms and Latoya Fairley and the Lady Tigers smothered Paine defensively to take an 87-64 victory over the Lady Lions on Thursday and advanced to the semifinals of the SIAC Tournament.

Grooms had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Benedict, the second seed from the East Division, while Fairley added 14 points and 10 rebounds. Amanda Toliver had 17 points, going 11-for-11 from the free throw line, and dished out seven assists.

Benedict will face Tuskegee University, the No. 1 seed from the West Division, in a semifinal matchup at 5:30 p.m. Central Time (6:30 p.m. Eastern) on Friday. The game will be broadcast on Benedict's internet audio.

The Lady Tigers held Paine to 34.4 percent shooting and dominated the boards, out-rebounding Paine 53-35.

Benedict led from start to finish, opening the contest by scoring the first nine points of the game. The Lady Tigers held as much as a 16-point lead in the first half after a layup by Britenique Harrison and had a 41-27 lead at the break.

Paine cut the lead to nine points, 42-33, early in the second half after a jumper by Ariel Brown, but Benedict went on a 13-4 run to push the lead to 55-37 after a layup by Toliver.

Paine cut the lead to 66-55 with 3:11 left to play, but Benedict scored 16 straight points to push the lead to its largest of the game, 82-55.

Paine, the sixth seed from the East Division, closed out its season at 12-16. Ashley Watts, the nation's leading scorer in Division II, had 23 points to lead the Lions, while Brown added 15.

Benedict shot 51.9 percent in the second half and 44.6 percent for the game. The Lady Tigers were constantly pushing the ball quickly up the floor, and had 18 assists. They connected on 29 field goals, their second-highest total of the season.

"We focus on our defense, but coming to this tournament we knew we had to score," head coach James Rice said. "I asked them to relax and play their game offensively."

The Lady Tigers will now face a bigger team in Tuskegee, a 71-61 winner over Fort Valley State in an earlier contest on Thursday.

"Tuskegee is a different team. They've got a lot of good inside weapons," Rice said.

Box Score

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