COLUMBIA, S.C. – Ay'Anna Bey scored on a layup with seven seconds left to give Benedict its only lead of the game as the Lady Tigers rallied from a 23-point second-half deficit to upset 18^th-ranked Valdosta State 49-48 on Wednesday night in the Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.

Benedict held the Lady Blazers to just six fourth-quarter points and outscored Valdosta State 21-6 in the final period. The Lady Tigers held Valdosta State to 2-of-8 shooting in the final period and forced 11 fourth-quarter turnovers, including a travel violation to end the game.

The Lady Tigers improve to 13-6 overall with their second straight victory over a nationally-ranked opponent. Valdosta State falls to 14-4 with its second straight loss.

Keondra Archie led the Lady Tigers with 23 points. Ayanna Armstead added 10 points. Shanassia White grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.

Valdosta State jumped out to a big lead, scoring the first 12 points of the game as Benedict missed its first nine shots. The Lady Tigers got their first points on a layup by Archie with 3:22 left in the first quarter and trailed 16-4 at the end of the first quarter. Valdosta State had a 30-15 lead at the half as Benedict shot just 19 percent (7-of-37) in the first half, including just 1-of-19 on 3-pointers.

The Lady Blazers increased their lead to 38-15 with 4:06 left in the third quarter before Benedict went on 13-4 run to close out the quarter and cut the lead to 42-28 heading to the fourth quarter.

Valdosta State still had a 48-32 lead with 7:16 left in the game, but the Lady Blazers were held scoreless the rest of the game. A free-throw by Wykira Johnson-Kelly cut the lead to 48-47 with 45 seconds left. Valdosta State's Nicole Heyn was whistled for an offensive foul with 18 seconds left, turning the ball back to Benedict. Bey scored on a cut to the basket off an assist from Archie.

Benedict now hits the road for a pair of games at Clark Atlanta on Saturday and at Fort Valley State on Monday.