TUSKEGEE, Ala. -- Miles withstood an early rush by Tuskegee but ultimately locked down the Golden Tigers over the final three periods to earn a 58-50 win Saturday afternoon at Chappie James Arena. The win was the 20th on the season for the 22nd-ranked Lady Bears (20-4, 18-3 SIAC West) and first in Tuskegee since 2018, which also puts the team one win away from clinching the SIAC West Division title and No. 1 seed for the upcoming conference tournament.

The Golden Tigerettes (11-11, 11-10) scored the first eight points of the game and led 12-2 just inside of four minutes to go in the opening quarter as the Lady Bears missed nine of their first 10 shots from the field and turned the ball over three times. But a 10-2 run to close out the first half - where Miles held Tuskegee without a field goal for the final 7:47 of the second quarter - helped turn the tide and give the Lady Bears a 29-26 lead at the half.

A slow third quarter saw Samarian Franklin score seven of Miles' nine points but it was enough to keep the Lady Bears up by two heading into the final quarter. Still, Tuskegee never took the lead. Jaylen Pleasant hit two big 3-balls in the fourth, the first coming to open the period, the second coming after the Golden Tigerettes had whittled a seven-point Miles advantage back to two points. Both baskets pushed the lead back to five points, the last coming with 4:20 remaining to give Miles a 49-44 lead. The Lady Bears would push the lead back to nine points late and Tuskegee - which made just eight baskets over the final three quarters and shot just 27 percent from the field after making eight buckets and shooting 57 percent in the first quarter - never got closer than five points the rest of the way.

Shemaiah Mackin (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Arianna Durrell (14 points) were the high scorers for Tuskegee. Franklin had a game high 19 points and five assists, Makayla Rieves had 11 points and five rebounds, and Nayla Wesley added eight points and a team-high six rebounds for Miles, which hosts Spring Hill on Monday. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.