TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Oakwood University's dream season came to a disappointing end Saturday night as Rust College eliminated the Ambassadors in the semifinals of the 2026 Hope Credit Union HBCU Athletic Conference Championship with an 74-71 victory inside Birthright Hall at Stillman College.
Ronnie Abrams' team was poised to advance to today's championship game, leading 50-35 midway through the third period after a 3-pointer by
Kamaria Murray, but Rust outscored Oakwood 39-21 the rest of the way enroute to the win.
"We let this one get away," Abrams said. "We were in control and didn't finish the game the right way."
Oakwood finished 17-9 overall, including its first HBCUAC East Division title. The 17 wins are the most in school history.
"We had a good year, but we didn't finish the job," Abrams said.
After Murray's 3-pointer, the Bearcats outscored the Ambassadors 30-8 over the next eight minutes of game action to go up 65-58 with just under seven minutes remaining.
Oakwood battled back and tied the game at 66-all on a free throw by
Brittney Howell at the 4:55 mark, but the Ambassadors never regained the lead as Rust hit some timely free throws down the stretch to punch its ticket to the championship game.
Saniya Keys led four Oakwood players in double figures with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Jakyla Diawara scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while Murray finished with 12 points and seven assists.
Trenisha Adams had 11 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block in her final game in an Oakwood uniform.
The Ambassadors shot 37.5 percent (27-of-72) from the field, including 25 percent (6-of-24) from 3-point range, and 64.7 percent (11-of-17) from the free throw line.
Patsy Johnson led Rust with 25 points, while Unique Miller and Cawthon scored 17 and 16 points, respectively.
The Bearcats shot 41 percent (25-of-61) from the field, including 33.3 percent (10-of-30) from beyond the arc, and 48.3 percent (14-of-29) from beyond the arc.
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