In second women’s semifinal game, the fourth seed Tigerettes of Tuskegee University met the eight seed Lady Tigers of Stillman College to determine who would advance to meet the Lady Tigers of Benedict College in the championship game on Saturday (March 6^th) at 5:30 p.m.

In a surprise finish to the first half, the Lady Tigers took a 37-26 lead into the locker room at intermission.  The first 20 minutes of basketball included three ties and three lead changes.

The Lady Tigers took the half time advantage with a 13 of 35 shooting performance (37%) compared to the nine of 29 effort by the Tigerettes. While Stillman was 11 of 16 from the free throw line in the first half (68.8%), Tuskegee managed only seven conversion on 16 attempts (43.8%).

In the second half, the Lady Tigers saw their 11 point halftime lead grow to 41-28 with 17:23 remaining in the game after a miniature 4-2 run.  With 15:40 left, Tuskegee cut the Stillman lead to 45-36. After another transition basket by Ameila Dorton near the 15 minute mark, Tuskegee had cut the Lady Tiger lead to 45-39.   At the 13:50 mark, a lay up by Tuskegee’s Nnenna Eze made it a 45-42 game with the Lady Tiger advantage in serious jeopardy.

While tenuous, the Lady Tigers lead still stood at the 11:27 mark (50-47).  With 9:52 left, Stillman still led by three points, 53-50.  With 6:44 left, the Stillman lead was 55-53.

After a turnover by the Lady Tigers with 6:21 remaining, the Tigerettes had an opportunity to tie the game with a two point basket or take the lead with a three pointer.  They got the latter from Tequila Martin to go up 56-55.

With 4:54 left, the Lady Tigers reclaimed the lead (57-56) after a Siera Dority jump shot.  At the 2:51 a time out was called with Stillman leading 61-60.  At this point, there had been five ties and nine lead changes in the game.

With a 1:31 left, the teams exchanged baskets with Stillman clinging to a one point advantage, 63-62.  With :39 left, the Lady Tigers led 65-64 with Martin at the free throw line for Tuskegee.  She sank them both to give Tuskegee a one point edge, 66-65. On the other end of the floor, Jamila McKinnis converted a lay up to give the lead right back to Stillman, 67-66 with :27 remaining. 

With Tuskegee forced to foul down the stretch, the Lady Tigers iced the win with three critical free throws by Jasmon Hazley in the remaining seconds to advance to the championship by a 70-66 score.

Jamila McKinnis led the Lady Tigers in scoring with a game high 23 points and 10 rebounds.  Phylice Eubanks added 15 points and eight rebounds while Alecia Young finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.

The Lady Tiger win sets the championship stage for tomorrow (Saturday, March 6^th) at 5:30 p.m. when they meet the Lady Tigers of Benedict for the SIAC crown,