Box Score Heart. It's a quality that sometimes makes the smaller team the bigger one in a battle.

Saturday at L.S. Epps Gymnasium, that's what Clark Atlanta University head coach Yolanda Moore said pushed her Lady Panthers to a hard-fought 54-52 overtime win over a taller and deeper Benedict squad.

Lauren Turner hit two free throws with fifteen seconds remaining in overtime to give CAU a win that puts them alone in first place in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's East Division with a 9-2 record.   The Lady Panthers are 11-7 overall.

"I just told them, 'this is it,'" Moore said.  "'How you play on the defensive end is going to determine the game.  The energy you come with, you have to play every possession these last couple of minutes like your life depends on it.  It just depends on how bad you want it.  Do you want it more than them? If you do, then you'll go out there and block out.  You have to limit them to one shot. You have to take care of the basketball. You have to be smart and just value every single possession.'

"They did that down the stretch, obviously. We came out with the win," Moore said. "They did listen.  They did go out and execute.  I'm just proud of them with the heart they showed.  We are short; we've battled some adversities this season, but they've managed to work through them and still stick together as a team.  So, I'm proud of them for that."

The Lady Panthers led most of the first half, though their biggest lead was only six points. Naomi Holloway's free throws with 2:33 left in the half gave them a 21-18 lead at the break.

They held a slim lead deep into the fourth quarter, but Benedict's Shanaissa White hit a 3-pointer with two minutes remaining in regulation to tie the game at 41-41.

Mikeisha Moore's put the Lady Tigers ahead 43-41 on her jumper with 43 seconds left.  But CAU's I'Nayiah Moore hit a basket with 34 seconds left to tie the game again and the Lady Panthers held on to push the game into overtime.

Less than a minute into the five-minute overtime, Benedict went up by four.  Holloway and Marissa Mandeldove both hit baskets, with Mandeldove – the SIAC's steals leader – forcing a steal as CAU tied the game at 47-47 with 2:51 left.

Mandeldove hit two free throws after a technical on Benedict's Moore, and then I'Nayiah Moore added another free throw to give CAU a 50-47 lead with 2:15 remaining.   Benedict tied the game at 52-52 with 36 left, but the Lady Panthers got some key rebounds at the end as Turner hit her free throws to give CAU the win.

Turner finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and two steals while Holloway had 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a steal.  Mandeldove had 12 points, five steals, four assists and two rebounds. 

Both teams struggled shooting as Benedict hit only 28 percent of their shots while CAU connected on just 25 percent of theirs.  Benedict out-rebounded CAU 63-44, but Clark Atlanta scored 22 points off of turnovers.

"I'm happy we won," Moore said. "Benedict is a really tough team. They are tall at every position, very athletic.  But I'm happy we were able to kind of tough it out."

The Lady Panthers have another tough game ahead as they host Claflin on Monday, Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. in L.S. Epps Gymnasium.  Claflin, with an 8-2 conference record, is one game behind CAU and will be looking for a win to force a first-place tie.  The Lady Panthers will look to win their third in a row.