JACKSON, Miss. -- On Saturday afternoon, the Millsaps College women's basketball team celebrated Senior Day, and closed out the 2019-20 regular season with a crucial 63-55 Southern Athletic Association (SAA) win over the Birmingham Southern College Panthers.

The Majors fought back from an early deficit to grab a slim two-point lead at the end of the 1st quarter. They spent the rest of the afternoon adding to that lead and securing their third consecutive win.

The victory pushes the Millsaps overall record to 12-13. They finish the regular season 6-8 in SAA play. The loss drops BSC to 14-11 overall and 6-8 in the league. 

Millsaps is locked in a three-way tie with BSC and Berry for fourth place in the final conference standings. 

How It Happened
BSC opened the game with the first four points, but by the 4:24 mark of the 1st quarter Millsaps had tied it up at 10-10. The teams traded baskets over the next several possessions, but Dia Fortenberry and Lauren Hill each split a pair of free throws inside the final minute of the quarter to put the Majors up 17-15.

The Panthers began the second quarter with a 7-0 run, but the Majors' defense made some adjustments. Millsaps limited BSC to just 2 points over the final 7:17 of the 2nd quarter.

On the offensive end for the Majors, Anna Wilson converted on a layup to end the BSC run. Several possessions later, a pair of free throws from Devan Caldwell tied the game back up at 24-24. The Panthers turned it over on the ensuing possession, and Hill put Millsaps up 26-24 with a basket. 

Unfortunately both offenses went cold as neither team scored over the final 3:18 and the 26-24 score held at halftime. 

The 3rd quarter is when the Majors really took control of the game.

4 points from Fortenberry, and 4 more from Wilson allowed Millsaps to open up a 34-24 lead 3 minutes into the 3rd quarter. The Majors led by as many as 11 points in the quarter, on an Andrea Rayford layup, before settling for a 45-36 advantage heading into the final quarter. 

BSC got to within 4 points of the Majors twice in the 4th, but Millsaps held strong to secure the win. The Majors made 10 of their last 12 free throw attempts to put away the 63-55 victory. 

Notables
Taelor Manning paced Millsaps, her 24 points were just 1 shy of her season-high. 

Fortenberry pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds, and finished 1 point away from a double-double with 9. 

The Majors outscored the Panthers 36-24 inside the paint.

What's Next?
Millsaps now awaits their final seeding for the SAA Tournament. Tournament play gets underway next weekend with the quarterfinal round. The highest four seeds will host the lowest four seeds at on-campus sites across the SAA.