FORT VALLEY, Ga. – The Wildcats buckled down and reaped the rewards on Monday afternoon. Fort Valley State ran off eight-straight points in the late third quarter for the lead and held tough in the final quarter to lead for a 65-62 victory over Edward Waters in women's basketball.

Trailing 46-41 with 2:23 left in the third period, FVSU freshman Cori Barnes went to work. Barnes hit a jumper, followed with a trey and added another bucket to combine with a Shekinah Rachel free throw to turn the tide for a 49-46 home lead to end the frame. After an Edward Waters 3-pointer to retake the edge (52-51), Rachel sank a pair of free throws and laid in bucket before one Ayana Cockrell free throw and an Aaniyah Allen layup for a 58-52 advantage with 5:38 showing. The Tigers pulled back to within a single point, 60-59, but could not get past the Wildcats.

Allen connected on 6 of 10 from the floor with a trey for a team-high 16 points to go with five assists, three rebounds, three steals and a block. Rachel registered her fourth double-double in a row with 15 points to go with 12 rebounds while she had three steals, an assist and a block. Barnes pumped in a season-high 15 points with a trio of 3-pointers on six tries. Keianna West chipped in five boards.

FVSU made 13 of 28 from the floor in the final two quarters and made 3 of 5 from long range while it also outrebounded the visitors on the day (39-32).

Avery Jourdan paced the Tigers with 12 points.

Following the visiting team putting up the first four points of the game, FVSU tied the contest at eight on a pair of Cockrell free throws at 3:28. Camryn Oneill and Barnes ended the first 10 minutes with back-to-back jump shots for a 16-13 lead.

Edward Waters won the second period, 19-12, and took a 32-28 lead to half.

FVSU goes on the road this weekend when it plays at Allen University in Columbia, S.C., in a 1 p.m. tip on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 20).

-Wildcats-