In quarterfinal action from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Basketball Tournament on Wednesday (Feb. 27
th), the Lady Wildcats of Fort Valley State University (FVSU) met the Tigerettes of Tuskegee University (TU) to determine who would advance to the semi-final round. The Lady Wildcats entered the game as the fourth ranked team from the East Division and the Tigerettes entered as the number one seed out of the West.
In the early stages of the first half momentum swung in favor of FVSU. After a 5-0 run to start the game, the Lady Wildcats used a combination of intense defensive pressure and a heavy player rotation to keep the Tigerettes off -balance and maintain a lead. TU's instability subsided at the 5:59 mark when they took their first lead of the game, 23-22. As the half wore on FVSU regained its offensive and defensive footing to take a 35-28 lead into intermission.
The start of the second half showed early signs that FVSU would take command of the game. By stretching their lead to as many as nine points, the Lady Wildcats played like a team bend on advancing to the semi-finals. However, with 13:30 remaining, the Tigerettes showed the same desire. They cut the FVSU lead to three points, 48-45 and it once again became clear that the game would be a close contest. Minutes later, the teams were tied at 49.
After a time out, things started to fall Tuskegee's way. With 9:05 left, they took a 53-49 advantage. TU added three more points to make it 56-49. But there was no quit in the Lady Wildcats. With 5:07 left, the teams were tied 63-63.
With 2:28 remaining, FVSU took a 69-67 lead. At 1:16 left, TU led 71-69. Tied at 71 with 13 seconds left, TU was lost the ball on their end of the floor. Now down to six seconds left, FVSU's
Jayme Gilbert drove the ball the length of the floor and converted a layup to give FVSU the 73-71 win.
Gilbert led FVSU in scoring with 21 points and
Briana Shepherd finished with 14 points. Marie McCabee led TU with 19 points.
The Lady Wildcats now advance to the semi-finals on Friday, March 1
st and will meet the winner of the Clark Atlanta University versus Claflin University quarterfinal game. Tip-off for the semi-final game is 5:30 p.m. in the Forbes Arena on the Morehouse College campus.
