Atlanta, Ga. – With only four second-half field goals, the fifth-seeded Clark Atlanta University Lady Panthers were eliminated from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) women’s basketball tournament with a 65-39 loss to No. 4 Benedict College in the quarterfinals Wednesday at Morehouse College's Forbes Arena.
“We could not get on track offensively in the second half,” said CAU Head Coach Vanessa Moore.
Benedict pulled away from a close first half with a 10-0 run to close out the first half to take a 32-22 lead into the locker room.
After CAU senior guard Shantress Thrash opened the second half with a layup to cut the lead to eight points, the Lady Tigers scored the next seven points and never saw their lead drop below double digits the rest of the way.
Denissea Law’s three-pointer with 4:40 to play decreased the deficit to 11 points, but Benedict turned up the pressure and closed out the game on a 14-1 run to seal the victory. The Lady Tigers defense forced 29 turnovers and recorded 22 steals.
All-Conference players Conisha Hicks and La’Quisha Lewis led the Lady Panthers with 14 and 10 points, respectively while Benedict’s Santera Grooms finished with 14. As a team, CAU hit 22 percent (13-of-58) from the field in the game.
The Lady Panthers wrapped up their season 14-13 overall with victories in 10 of their last 13 games.
“It was a tough way to end such a good run we had in February, but this team has a lot to build on for next year,” Moore added.
Clark Atlanta advanced to the quarterfinals with a 62-47 first round victory over Lane College led by Lewis who recorded a team-high 17 points and 19 rebounds.
