By: FVSU Office of Sports Information
The Lady Wildcats of Fort Valley State University (FVSU) are on their way to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Women's Basketball Championship! After a 74-60 win over the Lady Tigers of Benedict College in the semifinal round, FVSU returns to the conference championship game after a one-year hiatus. Champions in 2009, the Lady Wildcats and Head Coach Lonnie Bartley will be vying for the school's tenth conference title since the women's championship tournament was introduced in 1979.
In the game's first 20 minutes, the Lady Wildcats took advantage of a poor half of shooting by the Lady Tigers who converted only five of 28 shots (17.9%). In that same period, the Lady Wildcats made 12 of 32 shots (37.5%) to take a 41-28 lead at halftime.
In the second half, Lady Wildcats raised their shooting percent to 42.9% with a 12 of 28 shooting performance. The Lady Tigers also raised their field goal percentage by making 11 of 24 second half shots (45.8%).
The difference makers for the Lady Wildcats included the play of Kendra Evans who posted one of her best games of the year and the overall defensive effort of FVSU. Evans finished with a game-high 27 points and 13 rebounds. Overall, the Lady Wildcats defense forced 25 Benedict turnovers and out-rebounded the Lady Tigers 51 to 34.
Kadeidra Freeland had 11 points in the Lady Wildcat win while Charvez Holmes and Brittany Jackson finished with 14 and 12 points respectively for Benedict College.
The Lady Wildcats will play in the 2010-11 SIAC Women's Basketball Championship Game tomorrow (Saturday, March 5th) at 5 p.m. in the Forbes Arena on the Morehouse College campus. They await the winner of the semifinal match up between Stillman and Miles Colleges.
Tickets for the SIAC Basketball Championships (Women & Men) are $15 general admission and $10 for students.
-Wildcats Athletics-
