MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Head Coach Matt dean picked up his 200th win of his Rhodes career on Thursday, as the Rhodes women's basketball team downed Southwestern University, 70-60.
 
The Lynx improve to 8-1 on the season, while the Pirates are now 2-8 on the year.
 
The contest started out all Lynx, as Rhodes pushed out to an early 15-5 lead by the 14:16 mark after a Sarah Johnson trey. Coach Matt Dean's squad built their lead to 13 after a Jessie Ustick fastbreak lay-in made the count 22-9 with 9:24 to play.
 
However, the Pirates weren't ready to throw in the towel, as Southwestern  worked at etching away the Lynx lead. By the 1:58 mark the Pirates, fueled by an 11-2 run, cut the Lynx lead to just three at 29-26. After an and one play from Cullen Severson, the Pirates took their first lead of the game since the opening minutes. A pair of Sarah Johnson free throws to close the half knotted the contest at 32-32 heading into the break.
 
At the half, Symone Daniels led all scorers with 13 points and six rebounds. Johnson added seven points and Bailey Kramer got on the board with four points. The Pirates efforts were led by Jordan Owens who netted 11, followed by Audrey Garcia who added nine points.
 
Rhodes shot 31.6 percent from the field in the opening half of play, with Southwestern firing 37.5 percent, with 36.4 from beyond the arc.
 
In the second half the tight battle ensued, as Dy'Nelle Todman knocked down an opening jumper to take a 34-32 lead with 19:37 to play. The Lynx traded baskets and leads with the Pirates during the ensuing minutes. Rhodes was able to build to a nine point lead after Daniels laid in a shot with 10:37 to play, making the count 50-41.
 
But again, Southwestern charged back, aided by the hot hand of Garcia, who knocked down a three at the 7:13 make to make the count 52-51. Rhodes worked to answer, and Johnson connected from beyond the arc to push the Lynx lead out to 65-60 with 2:25 to play.
 
The Lynx defense came up big as the Lynx held on for the 70-60 win, scoring the final 10 points in the contest.
 
Daniels led the Lynx with her second straight double-double of the season, with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Johnson finished the night with 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Kramer worked into double figures with 10 points, and grabbed 13 rebounds for a double-double of her own.
 
The Pirates were led by Garcia, who finished with 23 points, where she shot 6-7 from beyond the arc. Owens added 11, with Madison Eschle chipping in ten points.
 
Rhodes held the Pirates to 36.2 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from beyond the arc. Rhodes fired 33.3 percent in the outing and forced 18 Southwestern turnovers, which they turned into 21 points.
 
Rhodes will return to the court on Dec. 19 when they host the Bancorp South Classic. Rhodes will face off against Augustana College at 7 p.m.