Albany State women capture SIAC Tournament title

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Albany State Lady Rams claimed the SIAC Tournament title Sunday morning after defeating Benedict 72-64 and have earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II tournament.

Head coach Robert Skinner said it’s a “great honor and privilege to represent not only the SIAC, but the city of Albany as well.”

After a quick turnaround from their semifinal game as well losing an hour to daylight savings time, the Lady Rams showed no fatigue and were able to get off to a solid start and end the first half with a 36-32 lead.

“Getting in bed last night and getting plenty of rest [was key],” Skinner said. “We got in as early as we could last night and most of our players were in bed by 9 o’clock. We knew we had to get an early morning start, so we got up early and had breakfast, our regular routine. We knew we had to get to the gym early enough to get loose, get warm and we did all of those things.”

In the second half, 3-pointers from Keidra Green and Zuri Frost, followed by a jumper from Mecca Frost gave ASU a comfortable 10-point lead with 17:40 left. The Lady Rams would hold on to that lead for most of the second half.

After leading the team in scoring with 17 points in the semifinal win over Kentucky State, Mecca Frost came up big again for ASU. The senior guard, who usually plays the role of facilitator, took her offensive production to another level in the tournament and led the team with 26 points and 10 rebounds in the championship game.

“They [Benedict] knew we were gonna go to either Keidra or Iesha[Young], or to Tiffany [Artisha Holston],” Skinner said. “So Mecca took it on herself because she knew they were gonna leave her open all the time. So by them leaving her open, she just shot the basketball and I think she proved to us and proved to them and probably proved to herself that she was just as much an offensive power as anybody on our team.”

Green chipped in with 14 points, while Holston finished just shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.

The selection committee will meet tonight and announce the official NCAA Division II tournament matchups. The Lady Rams made the tournament last year after a 16-year drought and were knocked out in the second round by Nova Southeastern, a team that eventually made it to the Final Four. This year, Skinner said they’re much-more prepared for the challenges playing on a grandstage.

“It had been a while last year since we made the tournament, so we really wasn’t prepared to go out and play and we had a lot of kids injured,” he said. “I think we’re much better prepared this year even though we have two or three ball players healing and mending. We know what to expect now. We don’t know where we’re going, we don’t know who we’re playing, but we do know what to expect now.”