By: FVSU Office of Sports Information
In Saturday night's (Jan. 15th) basketball match-up between the Lady Wildcats of Fort Valley State University (FVSU) and the Lady Tigers of Benedict College, leadership of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) hung in the balance. With each team entering the contest with identical 7-1 conference records, the Lady Tigers were ranked first in the SIAC with a slightly better overall record of 9-3 when compared to the 9-5 mark of the Lady Wildcats.
A win by the Lady Tigers would secure their front-runner status while a FVSU win would return the Lady Wildcats to the conference's top spot since losing that position on January 4th in a 45-43 loss to Kentucky State University.
In a game in which the teams combined for a total of 57 turnovers (29 by Benedict and 28 by FVSU), the Lady Wildcats overcame their mistakes to claim a 65-51 win. Trailing 28-27 at halftime, the Lady Wildcats railed in the game's second half by shooting 65% from the floor (13 of 20). The second half shooting percentage was dismal for the Lady Tigers who converted only seven field goals on 29 attempts (24%).
The Lady Wildcats were led in scoring by junior forward Kendra Evans who finished with 12 points, four rebounds, and three steals. Center Jasmine Birdsong had 11 points and six rebounds. Brandi Haynes and Davina High added nine and eight points, respectively.
In commenting on the win, FVSU Head Coach Lonnie Bartley said, “While it was not our best or prettiest win, we'll take it. While I was pleased at how effective our full court pressure was in creating scoring opportunities for us, obviously the number of turnovers we had worked against us.”
Now as the number one ranked team in the SIAC, the Lady Wildcats will be back in action on Tuesday night (Jan. 18th) at 6 p.m. in the HPE Arena when they host the team that knocked them out of first place earlier this month, the Thorobrettes of Kentucky State University. Men's action will follow at 8 p.m.
-Wildcats Athletics-
