Saturday’s matchup between Columbia neighbors and rivals Allen University and Benedict College has been dubbed “The Battle for Taylor Street” and it lived up to the hype.
The day had everything you want from your rival games as the women brought the drama with Allen’s 65-53 come from behind win over Benedict and the men allowed the home crowd to brag as Benedict defeated Allen 81-62.
The women’s game was close throughout with Benedict (3-15, 1-10) leading at the half 30-27. Allen (5-10, 2-8) took a 48-46 lead with 7:38 left in the fourth quarter after a Victoria Zidor steal and score off of an errant Benedict inbound pass, followed by a Kashay Hankerson fastbreak layup. The Yellow Jackets were able to get separation down the stretch and ended with a dagger three as time was about to expire.
It was pure jubilation at the final buzzer as the Yellow Jackets got a much needed win according to first-year head coach LaToya Jones.
“Regardless of this being a rivalry game, we had been seeking a win for a long time,” she said. “We hadn’t experienced a win since before Thanksgiving and we had been working hard and coming close, working hard and coming close. I think this win really just solidified our confidence. We kept our confidence and we didn’t come down to what our record said.”