COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Benedict held off a late comeback attempt from GRU Augusta and registered a 67-65 non-conference victory over the Jaguars Tuesday night in Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.

With the loss, the Jags slipped to 1-3 on the young season, while BC won their fourth straight and improved to 4-1.

Brooke McCants paced the Jags with 11 points and Becky Newhouse and Jemimah Ashby each turned in 10. Ashby was making her season debut after sitting out the first three contests while rehabbing a left knee injury which required offseason surgery. Amanda Toliver and Jasmine Stubbs each had 13 points for Benedict.

Senior guards Newhouse and McCants, along with junior transfers Kelsey Fynaardt, Whitney Rohrbach and Lonna Turner got the start. Rohrbach put the Jags on the board with a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the key and took a charge with 16:15 on the clock to keep a 7-all score into the first media timeout.

Benedict's Britenique Harrison and Latoya Fairley gave GRU trouble in the paint early, Newhouse kept the Jags in it with a layup for a 14-11 lead. The Jags lead 22-17 before eight straight points gave the Lady Tigers a 25-22 advantage at the 5:30 mark. Freshman Tavia Sykes nailed a trey from the top of the key to pull GRU even at 25-all prior to the final media timeout of the first half.

A second Sykes' three put the Jags in front 28-27 at the 1:59 mark and a pair of Marissa Mandeldove free throws gave GRU a 30-29 advantage with 35 seconds left in the half. The Lady Tigers' Toliver got free inside for a layup just ahead of the buzzer and Benedict carried a 31-30 lead into the break.

Turner's 3-pointer opened the second-half scoring for the Jags, who tied the game at 33-all at the 19:00 mark. GRU moved back in front on a Newhouse layup in transition and her runner from the baseline on the next possession put the Jags up 39-35. A McCants' 3-point play and a Newhouse jumper from the left baseline put GRU up 46-41.

After a Benedict layup, Fynaardt scored on a sweet feed from McCants at the 11:15 mark and Ashby's mid-range jumper gave GRU its largest lead at 50-43 with 10:13 to play. The Lady Tigers countered with a 10-0 spurt over the next 2:13 and moved in front 53-50 with 8:18 left. An Ashby free throw and jumper forced a 53-all tie with 7:08 remaining and Ashby's 3-pointer on the next possession put GRU back in front 56-53 at the 6:30 mark. Dericka Griffis scored inside with 5:01 left only to have BC answer when Jasmine Stubbs canned her fourth trey with 5:14 left for a 61-58 advantage.

An Ashby offensive rebound and putback with 57 seconds left gave the Jags' life, cutting their deficit to 62-60 and ending a scoreless drought of 4:59. Benedict's Toliver swished a pair of free throws with 42 seconds left before McCants drained a 3-pointer from the left wing, pulling GRU within 64-63. BC's London Richardson knocked down two free throws for a 66-63 Lady Tiger lead.

The Jags play their home opener on Saturday, Nov. 30 when they host Paine College for GRU Staff Appreciation Night at 5:30 p.m., in Christenberry Fieldhouse.