No. 1 seeds fall; East No. 2 Talladega, East No. 3 Rust advance to championship

Talladega reaches a conference championship game for the first time since 2022.

March 1, 2026

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Both division champions fell in the semifinals of the 2026 Hope Credit Union Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) Basketball Championship. East No. 2 seed Talladega College and East No. 3 Rust College rallied in the fourth quarter to advance to the championship game Saturday at Stillman College's Birthright Alumni Hall.

EAST No. 2 TALLADEGA COLLEGE 53, WEST No. 1 WILEY UNIVERSITY 51
Boxscore | Broadcast

Talladega overcame a seven-point fourth quarter deficit to advance to the conference championship game for the first time since 2022 when it was a member of the Southern States Athletic Conference.
It's defense didn't allow Wiley to get in a rhythm as it shot 4-for-17 (23.5 percent) in the fourth quarter and 26.7 percent for the game.
Kendallyn McCoy made a layup-and-one, Ceara Myers and Olympia Chaney hit jumpers to trim the margin to one with 7:14 left.
Brandy Jones hit a couple of jumpers and Alexis Foster stole the ball and made a layup to keep Wiley in the lead.
Chaney hit a jumper with 3:04 left to tie the game at 49.
Kiersten Usher stole the ball and laid it in to give Talladega the lead.
The Lady Wildcats missed three shots on one possession.
Myers got the rebound and eventually made a layup to increase the margin to four.
Jones pulled Wiley within two as she hit two of three foul shots.
The Lady Wildcats had an opportunity to tie or win the game but couldn't get a shot off.
Myers recorded a double-double with 18 points and 20 rebounds.
Chaney scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds.
Jones led Wiley with 14 points on four made shots.
Jessica Nerestant followed with eight points and recorded a team-high 16 rebounds.
Moriah Burley had eight points and three rebounds.
The HBCUAC West champion Lady Wildcats finished 16-8.

EAST No. 3 RUST COLLEGE 74, EAST No. 1 OAKWOOD UNIVERSITY 71
Boxscore | Broadcast

Rust College returns to the HBCUAC championship after making a fourth-quarter comeback against East No. 1 seed Oakwood University.
Oakwood jumped out in the first quarter and built a 13-point lead.
Trenisha Adams scored 11 points on three 3-pointers.
The Lady Bearcats finished the quarter on a 16-4 run. Patsy Johnson hit three 3-pointers and Genae Garner hit one to pull Rust within four.
Unique Miller hit a jumper to trim the lead to one.
The Lady Ambassadors re-established their lead in the second quarter. They hit four shots to build a five-point advantage.
Rust cut it to one, Jakyla Diawara hit a second-chance bucket and scored off a steal by Morgan Bone.
KaMaria Murray hit a three-pointer and layup to increase the advantage to double-digits. Oakwood took a 37-29 lead into the locker room.
A layup by Diawara and a three-pointer by Murray expanded Oakwood's lead to 15.
In the last two minutes of the third, Johnson got a steal and hit a 3-pointer. MyKylah Gray stole the ball and set up a layup for Taylia Cawthon. Cawthon hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 54-51.
Trailing by four with 8:35 remaining, Johnson hit a 3-pointer to cut the margin to one.
Miller made a layup to tie the game. Lauren Bennett stole the ball and laid it in to give Rust its first lead in the second half.
The Lady Bearcats extended their lead to seven when Cawthon made a layup-and-one.
Keys would cut the margin to three with a layup-and-one. Brittney Howell hit three of four free throws to tie the game at 66 with 4:55 remaining.
Miller put Rust back on top with a layup. Keys pulled the Lady Ambassadors within one on a second-chance put back with 49 seconds remaining.
Rust made three free throws to increase the lead to four. Diawara made a layup to cut the margin to two. Oakwood had a chance to tie the game but turned it over.
Johnson, Cawthon and Miller played the entire game for Rust. Johnson led the team with 25 points, also providing six rebounds and five assists. Miller recorded a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Cawthon provided 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
The victory secured Rust's fifth bid to the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship.
Keys led Oakwood with a double-double, 20 points and 11 rebounds. Diawara recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Murray recorded 12 points and seven assists.
The Lady Ambassadors finished 17-9.

2026 Hope Credit Union HBCUAC Basketball Championship Game

East No. 2 Talladega College (17-8) vs. East No. 3 Rust College (18-10), 4 p.m. | Live Stats | Broadcast

About the HBCU Athletic Conference
The HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) is the only HBCU conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The HBCUAC membership includes Dillard University (LA), Fisk University (TN), Huston-Tillotson University (TX), Oakwood University (AL), Paul Quinn College (TX), Philander Smith University (AR), Rust College (MS), Southern University at New Orleans (LA), Stillman College (AL), Talladega College (AL), Tougaloo College (MS), University of the Virgin Islands (St. Thomas), Voorhees University (SC), Wilberforce University (OH), and Wiley University (TX). HBCUAC sponsors championships in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's track and field, women's volleyball, softball, and baseball. In 2022, the HBCUAC secured the largest media rights deal in conference and NAIA history, signing a multimillion-dollar deal with Urban Edge Network. On July 1, 2024, the conference rebranded from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) to the HBCU Athletic Conference, marking a new era for the conference that embodies the makeup of its membership. For more information, visit hbcuac.org.