COLUMBIA, S.C. –The Spring Hill College (SHC) women's basketball team wound up their two-game Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) road trip through the Palmetto State with a 69-56 loss to the Benedict College (BC) Tigerettes at HRC Arena on Monday evening.
 
SHC grabbed a quick 5-0 lead over the Lady Tigers (3-10, 3-2 SIAC East) and doubled up the score at 10-5, but BC rallied to pull within 14-13 minutes later. The Tigerettes would take their first lead of the night off a 3-pointer from the right side to make it an 18-16 score, but SHC would steady the ship and carry a 22-20 advantage into the 2^nd quarter.
 
Benedict clawed out a 32-25 cushion late in the second period and would hold a 37-27 margin heading into halftime.
 
Throughout the 3^rd quarter, BC maintained a 4- to 6-point lead over the Badgers and clung to a 46-41 edge to start the final 10 minutes of play. Early in the 4^th quarter, the Tigerettes expanded their advantage to 52-42 and held on for a 69-56 final score.
 
Senior guard Jewel Hill led the Badgers with 23 points while fellow senior Angel Carthen pitched in 12 and sophomore shooting guard Elise Reilly added 10 points. As a team, SHC shot 35.8% (19-53) from the floor and 16.7% (3-18) from 3-point distance. The Badgers lost the ball 16 times in the face of five steals by the Tigerettes and shot just 53.6% (15-28) from the free throw line.
 
Spring Hill is now 0-4 versus BC since joining the SIAC in the 2014-15 season.
 
Having lost four of their last five games after starting the year at 6-1, the Badgers (7-5, 1-2 SIAC West) take a two-week break for the holidays before returning to action on Saturday, December 30, versus the SIAC East Division-leading Clark Atlanta University Lady Panthers (6-5, 4-0 SIAC East) at 2 p.m. in the Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center.