The SCAD Savannah (Ga.) Bees Are Headed to the Semifinals After Stinging Marian (Ind.) in the Night Cap.
DECATUR, Ala. – [Watch On-Demand]The SCAD Savannah (Ga.) Bees used a decisive third-quarter surge to pull away from the Marian (Ind.) Knights in the 2026 NAIA Women’s Lacrosse night cap to collect the 14–10 win Monday night, at Jack Allen Sports Complex.
The match opened with SCAD (13–3) striking first and fast. Goals from Karley Holland and Ellen Benintendi, along with an extra-player finish by Lilah Herold, pushed the Bees in front 3–0 in the opening 2:35.
Marian (13–4) answered with four straight goals, including two from Taleah Nool and an extra-player tally by Rylie Boezeman, to take a 4–3 lead. SCAD’s McKinsey Brown tied the game late in the quarter, and the opening period ended even at 4–4.
The Bees carried their momentum into the second quarter, scoring twice to build a 6–4 lead. The Knights stayed within striking distance behind a man-up goal from Delaney Koles and a score from Allyson Cissell off an assist from Nool, trimming the deficit to 7–6 at halftime.
The turning point came in the third quarter. SCAD outscored Marian 5–2 in the period, fueled by Benintendi and Holland and aided by extra possessions. Benintendi scored twice in the final 5:52 of the quarter as the Bees stretched the margin from one to four goals, taking a 12–8 lead into the fourth.
Marian got an early fourth-quarter goal from Alex Dean, her second of the night, but SCAD answered with two late goals from Benintendi to extend the lead to 14–9 before Nool added a final Marian goal in the closing minute.
Key Performers
SCAD Savannah
- Ellen Benintendi: 6 goals, 3 assists (9 points), and 10 shots on goal. She also added 5 ground balls, 5 draw controls, and 5 caused turnovers in a complete two-way performance.
- Karley Holland: 3 goals on 7 shots on goal.
- Lilah Herold: 3 goals.
- Annise Berkeley: 1 goal, 3 assists.
Marian (IN)
- Taleah Nool: 3 goals, 3 assists (6 points), including Marian’s final goal; involved in multiple key scoring sequences.
- Alex Dean: 2 goals.
- Delaney Koles: 2 goals, including one man-up score.
- Marian goalkeeper Aniyah Jones recorded 14 saves while facing 28 shots on goal.
By the Numbers
SCAD’s advantage showed up in possession and volume:
- Shots: SCAD 38, Marian 25
- Shots on goal: SCAD 28, Marian 16
- Ground balls: SCAD 32, Marian 22
- Draw controls: SCAD 14, Marian 11
- Turnovers: Marian 30, SCAD 24
- Clears: Marian 14-for-26; SCAD 17-for-21
SCAD Savannah advances to the semifinals on Wednesday, May 13, to face the Patriots of Cumberlands (Ky.) in the 7 p.m. CT game with a spot in Friday’s championship game on the line.
